Star Wars CLOSED Star Wars: Episode X: DUEL OF THE FATES ~ 2021 Best RPG ~

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Vicrul stepped out the back of the Night Buzzard, his black cloak trailing behind him. What he saw before him disgusted the Knight of Ren. Worthless souls living worthless lives, given a purpose to be greater than themselves only to reject it.

By his side sat his Beskad, for this he only need the one. His death gaze met with Hattaska, he did not need to be told twice what to do, or even the first time.

​

Vicrul eyed the stragglers and the camp, his dead lifeless eyes stealing the souls that laid before him, he towered over them, his gait slow deliberate, filled with purpose. One of them made a motion to 'greet' the Knight of Ren, in a swift quick motion Vicurl cut down the man, who now laid in two halves on the ground. The others screamed raising their blasters, Vicrul simply pressed on the blaster fire bouncing off his beskar armor.

Like a ghoul, he wandered from combatant to combatant, each falling by his blade, in time they would realize their goal, to kill this phantom would be impossible, they turned to flee, Vicrul seemed unbothered by this, he spotted the Anzellan, seemingly the leader of this insignificant rebellion.

​

Before the little Anzellan knew what had happened Vicrul was in front of it, staring down onto the hapless creature, his beskad plunged through the Anzellan's chest, he raised it up like meat on a skewer, with a flick of his arm the creature was sent flying smashing into a nearby rock, its lifeless body went limp as Vicrul turned to the remaining insurgent fighters, his blood-stained blade falling to end more pointless lives. His carnage controlled focused, almost surgical. The wraith that was supposedly a human shifted from enemy to enemy it was almost mesmerizing to behold.

TAG: @Sinrebirth @Master Vo'Un'Var

 

Dol Khan - Assault on Galaxies Opera House
-Galaxies Opera House, Coruscant

Two guards. Two blasters. One Dol Khan.

The math was in his favor.

Dol Khan slides a finger opening his control over the Opera House on his datapad. He closes the vents to the Don’s room. The generators churning on the outside of the building would begin to tick up-up-up to maximum workload. Past the safety parameters.

One last motion on the datapad: He activates the fire suppression system inside the Opera House. The gasses flood the building with a dull roar. Dol Khan becomes obscure and hard to see. Before the guards can react, he moves.

The doors kick open and he unloads at the guards’ positions from a kneeling position

The two guards die, swiftly, brilliantly, and the Don and the women cough into the smoke. It clears as quickly as it appeared, the Tarkin and the Graul standing beside tipped up chairs. The Don snorts, waving a hand. His bed is as ornate as the rest of the room, an oversized Atrisian dragon at the head of his bed.

He stands on his bed, a panic to him, and crouches by one of the pillars at the corner of the oversized mattress. "Oh no! The Kubaz leader of the Resistance is here!" He is comically villainous.

Jalynn clears her throat. "What is it you want?"

Rivoche stood, imperious. "I've faced down assassins before, the Tarkinate doesn't bow to any terrorist." The woman glared at Dol. "You are nothing to the Order we bring to a galaxy that desperately needs it."

"Oh yes!" The Don said. "Backstory! We need your villainous, tragic, heroic backstory, Dol Khan!" He actually whinnied. "Please, regale us with your dramatic justification!"

Dol Khan stands and makes his way down the illustrious carpet as the smoke clears.

Rivoche Tarkin-Na’al ... An Imperial Warlord.

He was not here to talk. He was here to send a message.

He raises his left blaster swiftly and fires two shots into her chest, the reflection of the blaster fire portrayed across his goggles.

Rivoche took the shots in her chest, crying out, and staggering forward, flopping at Dol's feet, the carpet shifting with her weight, but settling swiftly enough. Jalynn cried out, and backed up, as did the Don, who fled to the back of the bed, almost as if he could push himself back and merge with the Atrisian dragon there.

Jalynn spluttered. "Why are you doing this?"

The Kubaz fires again into Rivoche before turning both blasters towards the Don. There was a reason why he was doing this. He just... couldn’t stop himself to answer the woman.

Anyone who works for the Empire is an enemy of Dol Khan’s.

He fires both blasters, 5 shots a piece, at the Don’s massive body!.

The Don pulled what he was holding onto - a tusk of the dragon's head was a lever! A sheen surrounded his bed - a small personnel shield! The bolts ricochet off, but even before that would register in Dol's mind the Don pulled the other tusk -

The carpet gave way as a gaping opening emerged in the centre of the room - a trap-door, right beneath his feet! Rivoche's body drops - Dol sidesteps quickly, but loses footing as the carpet is pulled into the hole. He falls, dropping one of the blasters down the trap, and scurries towards the wall. He grabs one of the dragons at the wall for stability and eyes the Don.

He is angry. But he maintains his attack mode.

Dol Khan holsters his blaster for a moment, preferring his comlink as his weapon of choice. The generators were primed and with a button press they exceed their maximum operating level. The lights surge brightly in the room but Dol is at a standstill.

He prepares for the lights and all power to the building to fail. Of course, he also expects the exploding generators to rock the building.

The explosion does just that, and rocks them, the bulbs in the room blowing in one. The Don cries out as his energy shield vanishes, but it is Jalynn who blindly shoves out at Dol the moment the lights go out -

Dol acts on instinct.

He launches a kick towards Jalynn as he Unholsters his blaster and takes aim at the Don.

Jalynn is kicked, but twists her body as she goes so the kick simply catches her waist - she dives down the hole with a cry, and the Don shouts out. "DON'T SHOOT!"

The emergency lighting kicks in, illuminating a man with his hands over his face, on his knees on his bed. The glares of Dol Khan’s blaster firing over and over and over towards the Don reveal what Dol thinks of the pleading man’s words.

The Don is shot - repeatedly, and it's really what it is. He was a bad man, and now, with his passing, the criminal underworld of Coruscant would collapse into utter chaos. Let alone what had happened to the two First Order allies. A galactic-level disaster was afoot.

From the bloody, shot-up body of the bloated Don would tumble a personal datapad - it had been in his hand, ready to offer up information in-exchange for his life. Now, his life was over, and the pad required use of his retina, voice and thumbprint scan...

And there was the whole getting out of here alive, element...

...Which the Kubaz had been planning for since before he had ever entered the Opera House; The Prime Chow was less than two minutes away.

He looks down the gaping hole after the woman who fell. There’s something resembling... regret or remorse rising in Dol Khan’s chest. He approaches the Don’s smoldering corpse and the feelings remain, like a lump of coal on his heart. In his younger days...

His younger days...

Dol Khan gathers the Don’s datapad and picks up the man’s chubby hand, biting down on the tips of all his fingers as he collects them in his pocket.

In his younger days, murder was a last resort. Now it was just as easy to do as swatting a bug. The Don was just a really big bug. The guards he had killed... insects. The agent he murdered... an insect with a fascist streak. This is not to say that this has not come at a cost. Dol Khan jabs his thumbs into the Don’s eye sockets to retrieve the man’s eyeballs.

No, it came at a cost. He felt emotionless most his days and sadness for the rest. The only thing that kept him from remembering the friends and comrades he had lost was his obsessiveness and dedication to the liberation.

Dol Khan hurries back down the corridor, out of the Don’s personal quarters. He plans to head back the way in which he came; a route that only he knew and would be calm enough to exploit given the explosions and blasterfire and death inside and outside of the Opera House. The Prime Chow should meet him there. Should...

Tag: @Sinrebirth @Jerjerrod-Lennox @Mitth_Fisto @Kurisan

 

Combo with our GM.

IC: Eleanor Magnus, Asteria
Escaping

Eleanor scrambled to her feet as Asteria grabbed her, and looked over as more stormtroopers rushed toward them. She gave a grateful smile to her Padawan and threw out her own hand at the stormtroopers, pushing them away before she turned and pulled Kaz up with her so he was standing.

"This ship won't be around in the next five minutes. You need to come with us before we all die." Eleanor told him, gripping his hand tightly, before she turned to Asteria. "Time to get back to the ship."

Kaz shook her off. "Go," he said, looking angry - and confused, too. He stood, obscuring the Stormtroopers line of fire. Asteria screamed, grabbing her hand and pulling.

"We need to go!"

"Look, I'm sorry. But I didn't lie to you on purpose, I did it to protect my daughter." Eleanor argued with him. "I'm not asking for your forgiveness, but I need you to trust me before it's too late." She turned to look at Asteria, and allowed herself to be pulled along. "Haven't you ever done something to protect yourself? Do you know what would happen if they caught us? What they would do to us?" She paused, "Do you know what they will do to you?"

Kaz stepped back, staring at her as the Stormtroopers caught up and went to move by him. The Chiss let them, his emotions churning in the Force. "Master!" Asteria shouted. "We need to go!" The first two troopers - the walkway was only wide enough for them to go in pairs - lifted their rifles and Kaz could only turn away.

He felt guilty, but there was so much going on with him at the moment.

He mumbled, but Eleanor would hear him.

Just go.

He was heartbroken... as if he had just realised that he couldn't bridge the gap between two dreams; between happiness and himself.

Eleanor stumbled back but not fast enough where she didn't hear Kaz, she gave him a last, pleading look before she threw her hand out to protect her and Asteria against the stormtroopers that raised their rifles, lifting them and throw them into the other stormtroopers..

"I'm sorry." Eleanor said, only so Kaz could hear. And then she turned with Asteria and ran to their ship.

The corridors were a labyrinth of sorts, and they accrued more and more Stormtroopers behind them. Save for a few bruises and unconscious troopers, they weren't getting rid of their pursuit, and it eventually wound towards the hangar, the ship's alarms ringing with more and more damage.

When they reached the hangar though, Kaz was there, blaster in hand.

Asteria skidded to a stop, panting, completely exhausted.

Eleanor kept Asteria in front of her as they ran, trying to protect her Padawan; her daughter from harm. There were a few times where she had to use the force on storm troopers to get past, but she didn't want to kill them.

By the time they reached the hanger, Eleanor was exhausted. Much like Asteria, and she halted when she saw Kaz with a blaster in hand. Her first instinct was to pull Asteria close to her to protect her and then second was to stare at Kaz in surprise.

"What are you doing?!"

He pointed the blaster at her, eyes resolute. He met Eleanor's eyes.

"I don't know what to do. How can I help save the galaxy if I turn my back on it?"

Eleanor swallowed hard. "Because you know in your heart that saving the galaxy means more then supporting those who brought about its destruction." She let out a short breath. "You said before that the First Order is about bringing order. You can't bring order like this. You want to save the galaxy? That's fine. But would you rather save it through hate and violence?" Eleanor pleaded with him. "There is always a better way Kaz."

Kaz swallowed. "Get down!"

He had made his decision, and he shot a Stormtrooper as he rounded the corner to catch up. Blaster fire followed them, and Kaz shouted. "We need to go!" There was a screech from the top of the ramp to the Skate.

It was Whistler, he'd prepared the ship to go, because they were under attack by local forces!

Eleanor ducked with Asteria as Kaz shot the stormtrooper as he rounded the corner. She looked at Kaz and nodded before picking up Asteria as the ship ramp lowered and Whistler stood there with a screech.

"Come on get on the ship." Eleanor said to Kaz before she shouted at Whistler. "Whistler great to see you!" She reached out with the force to make sure Kaz was still following her.

"We need to leave, get those shields up!"

Kaz ran, firing behind them, as Asteria basically screamed all the way up the ramp. This was no place for a child! Whistler had the ramp raising even as Kaz reached he, he wobbled as he tried to keep his balance, but made it up, blaster fire hammering upon the hull. Whistler had the engines lit and tweetled a loud musical whistle that could only sound like two words.

Hold on!

Eleanor let out a sigh of relief as they all made it up. "Whistler get out out of here." She told him, trying to calm Asteria down. She brought her into the cockpit and strapped her into a chair. "It's okay now. See, Kaz saved our lives? And now Whistler is doing that too." She looked at the controls for a moment before stepping back. She knew Whistler would get them out of here.

Eleanor looked back towards the ramp where Kaz had made it up seconds before, "Hey are you hurt? You need come into the cockpit and strap in."

Tag: @Sinrebirth @darthbernael

 

OOC: More fighting fun with @Sinrebirth

IC: Agent Johnson
Location: Uscru District, Coruscant

As Johnson reached ground level after his chase and fight reports began to flood in over his earpiece.

The insurgents at the dock had nearly been dealt with and there was a possible lead on the girl named Lin.

The bad news was there was now an attack by Resistance fighters and that his partner Agent Brown had gotten into a fight and had died. So it seemed the Don was now in danger. He himself was too far away to make a difference now but he could sort out those Resistance fighters.

The freighter coming in was not suspicious and could wait for now. There were troopers nearby who could deal with any trouble.

Johnson touched his earpiece, "Will eliminate the Resistance fighters at the Opera House. We have an Agent down".

As he began to run towards the Opera House another flash of memory appeared. This time it was a different voice. A woman who was kind to him. A woman in a scientist's uniform. Who wanted to release him from his torture…

But all he could think about at the time was the first woman's voice. The voice of the woman he truly loved….

Johnson squashed that memory again. He was about to go into battle again. Which meant no distractions.

As he got there he hid around a corner to see what was going on….

There were eight heavy looking guards at the end of the concourse that had previously been a thriving market place, and a half dozen multispecies Rebels holding with their backs to him exchanging from behind speeders they had clearly driven here.

Four of the Don's guards were on the ground, clearly dead, but the Don's people weren't retreating even though they had minimal cover - the doors were locked, a metal bulkhead evident over them, and all the windows - the Don had seemingly locked out his own men!

The Don it seemed had turned this part of the Opera House into his own fortress, and his men it seemed were expendable assets. Against the Resistance fighters they had no chance with the little cover they had.

The memories were coming back again. His first battle. Fighting for freedom. Fighting and blasting anything that looked like the enemy. That was before his job before he became someone who worked in the shadows. Before he became….this.

The little voice piped up we can't kill them! They'll never have us back in the fold. Fighting against those who we-

I thought I told you to be quiet.

Johnson pulled out his blaster pistol checking the charge. He had enough to take them on. As soon as he fired they would come for him. But hopefully the Don's men would hit back hard.

Aiming his blaster at the fighters backs he moved around the corner and began firing.

As insanely accurate as ever, two Resistance members were dead before they realised they were under attack. The rest scattered, one being caught in fire from the thugs, as three rounded their speeder to try and use it to shield against both attacking angles. It was a cross-fire, and that meant -

"Charge!"

Two Resistance members - both Devaron's - leapt up from behind cover, realising their only hope was to kill the Agent as quickly as possible, rushing forward and opening fire -

Johnson would have shook his head if he could. These two were obviously suicidal wanting to take on an Agent.

Of course Johnson had knowledge of this. Resistance members always charged forward, not caring about the consequences. It was all about taking down the First Order.

This was what he was trained for, what he was about to do.

With swift speed he moved forward, using his lightning fast agility to try and dodge shots, firing as he went. As soon as these two were hopefully done he could move on to the rest.

Two shots took two Resistance members down, leaving three, between the guards, who had rushed forward to assist him and had their number reduced to five. The three fighters dove behind the speeder, reckoning that the Agent was more dangerous than the Don's heavies and cutting down three more guards for one of their number. The last two guards reversed course and fled back down the street, before being shot from behind.

The last two Resistance fighters - a Sullustan and Twi'lek - had cover, and they intended to use it as they swung back to fire at the Agent, who had been given precious seconds to act -

The Don's heavies were now down and it seemed the remaining two fighters were successfully using cover to try and take him down.

But he had one advantage they did not….he was a lot faster.

As they were turning back to fire at him Johnson surged forward and used the speeders front as a vault to catapult himself over. As he did, he turned it into a flip as his body flew upside down he fired downwards hoping to catch the last two off balance.

Moments before he opened fire, there was an explosion that shook the entire concourse - and the Opera House went dark. Johnson’s footing, as well as that of the two Rebels, would be thrown out, and they scrambled back to their feet to try and get to him before he recovered -

As Johnson landed it seemed his shots had no effect or he had missed as he had not heard any cries of a hit.

An explosion rocked the area and the Agent's feet were taken out from under him. But again he was trained for this and as the Resistance fighters rose to their feet with lightning quick timing he rose to a knee and fired at the two fighters before they could find cover again.

Indeed, the rocking had caused the fighters to be missed as he shot at them, and it had continued by the time Johnson hit the deck.

But he had made it to his feet in time to shoot one, before the other bowled into the Agent. A suicidal idiot who thought he could be a hero, clearly. It was nearly over, with the sounds of blaster fire dribbling away at the port as well...

As the fighter crashed into him, Johnson tried to keep hold of his blaster. Unfortunately he dropped it this time due to the power of the fall.

But if you didn't have a blaster….you used your hands.

Thankfully neither woman's voice was popping up again to distract him and his little voice it seemed was in a sulk.

With his arms he wrapped them around the fighters throat and simply twisted, his legs wrapped around the fighters body so he couldn't move.

The death rattle came quickly enough, leaving him with a concourse of dead, a few burning speeders, and a locked down and darkened Opera House.

He’d won.

But she spoke.

What can you win, with violence?

That first woman again…

What was she to him? He remembered flashes...time spent intimately together, time spent together as if every meeting would be their last. Important information exchanged. Promises, then lies from her.

Hiding things from him. A promise to make things right….

But who was she, why couldn't he remember?

The little voice was about to pipe up but was immediately silenced. There was a mess to clean up. And with Brown dead it seemed it was up to Johnson to clean it up.

He shoved the dead rebel off him and stood up retrieving his blaster. After tucking his blaster back his jacket and straightening himself he touched his earpiece.

"Resistance fighters neutralised at the Opera House. Awaiting next orders".

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

IC: Lin
Level 1313, Uscru District



“I’m with the resistance, too!” said the boy, holding out a hand.

Lin hesitated. He must have been with the rebels fighting against the stormtroopers. She did not want to get mixed up in this. She had plans – such beautiful plans… dreams nurtured all her life – for when she finally arrived on Coruscant. And they had all fallen apart from the moment she had landed.

She heard storm troopers searching for her and remembered the terrifying, relentless agent that had killed Rizo.

Rizo

The shock of his death had not yet quite registered. He was… gone.

Lin shook her head. She could not think about that right now. She was still in danger, and did not even know why. She made a decision, taking the boy’s hand.

“Let’s go!” she nodded.

He took her off the streets through a manhole cover, into an underworld maze of covered alleys and infrastructure pipes. Lin began to appreciate his sense of direction and ability to scramble through the urban-industrial landscape, finding paths in the maze. It was like her own uncanny skills in the slime-jungles, but here the trees and tracks were plasteel and ferrocrete.

Eventually, after navigating a number of code-locked portals, he took her to his inner sanctum. A dingy, forgotten corner of the urban jungle. It had rust-brown metal walls and no windows. The light came from a collection of stolen glow globes. She did not know how deep beneath the city she was. She saw improvised bunks and hammocks, a store of food and supplies, and more of the young insurgents. A huge fan at one end of the chamber turned lazily but did little to lessen the stifling heat. Quite a den they had made for themselves.

An older boy with a scar down his face challenged them, flanked by two tall lads easily Lin’s own age, armed with pilfered blasters.

“Dade, who’s this?” said the leader, scowling at her. Lin tensed as the guards pointed the blasters at her.

“They were after her… I thought…” said Dade, eyes suddenly wide with panic at the idea he had accidentally brought in an outsider. Lin backed away a step.

“Wait Tung, Dade’s right…” said another voice. Lin looked and saw a lad with a creased face and droid’s claw as an improvised prosthetic in place of one arm.

“You saw her, Shelt?” said the scarred challenger, Tung.

“I did,” said Shelt. He pointed at her with his claw. “She took down two storm troopers. Then, she escaped from an Agent.”

There was suddenly a lot more interest in Lin. Tung and his guards stared at her. Emerging from dark corners of the den, more pairs of eyes peered at her from beneath messy clumps of tangled hair. Even Dade looked at her with surprise.

Lin was not sure how Shelt had known this about her, until she saw a computer console and all the tools of a slicer sticking out of his long coat with many pockets. The screen of the computer showed live feeds from many different security cameras across the city.

Tung was still not convinced. He brought up his own pistol and aimed straight at her face. He said, “Talk, now.”

Lin raised her hands defensively. “Look, I just got here, on Coruscant. I’m from Akiva, I kind of borrowed a ship and needed to disappear, then I walked into your troubles. I’m not part of any Resistance…”

“Enough!” said Tung, his finger tensing on the pistol trigger. “You should not have come here.”

“Wait!” said Shelt again. “Didn’t you hear me? She escaped from an Agent. Look at this.”

He turned the console and Lin saw herself through hacked security cam footage, sparring with the suit. She did well until he got her into the arm lock. Her shoulder twinged with memory of the pain. Then Rizo appeared and she ran for it.

She blinked back tears, seeing the three blaster shots that killed the Ranat.

Dade came beside her and took her hand again. “Tung, I say she can stay until she sorts herself out. She’s a fugitive now, too, and look at her fight!”

There were murmurs of agreement amongst the other boys. This organisation seemed to be run as a kind of democracy. Shelt nodded, too. “She’s one of us, Tung, even if she doesn’t know it yet.”

“And I can lead her out a different way, blindfolded if needed, so she can’t give us up. You won’t give us up, right?” Dade looked at her with such earnest eyes her heart almost melted.

Tung’s pistol remained pointing at her head. He said to Lin, “And what do you want?”

Lin sighed. This place was not exactly what she had in mind when she had dreamed of her new life on Corsucant. Even the Desperado Hilton of Myrra did not seem so bad now. But… with a nearly-empty credit chip on her wrist and the entire First Order now after her, she decided to go with the flow.

She shrugged. “I’m a fugitive. I need a place to lay low. So, yeah… maybe I can do some good for you guys. I can fight. I’ve been fighting all my life against those kinds of creeps.”

Tung lowered his pistol and turned to the crowd of boys that had gathered. “Well?”

The show of hands was overwhelmingly in her favour. Dade clung to her hand tighter and she saw Shelt wink at her.

Tung turned back. To his credit, he did not seem to hold a grudge. Lin figured he was just cautious, and that suited her fine.

He said, “Okay, you’re in. Welcome to the Lost Boys. Now with a girl. You got a name?”

“I’m Lin. Just… Lin.”

“Fine, Just-Lin. You make your own bed round here. You hungry?”

She shook her head. “I need a drink.”

* * *​

Considering their ages, as she judged them, the boys took the alcohol amazingly well, thought Lin. Except Dade, who was almost passed out. Tung watched her from a corner, quietly. Shelt was still going strong. That creased face had been exposed to acid or some sort of harmful gas, but it gave him a veneer of old-man wisdom that perhaps was not entirely false.

After swapping life stories of similar abandonment, desperation, and rising up against their oppressors, Lin and the Lost Boys had sealed their friendship.

That was when Lin had broken down into tears, about Rizo.

“I always treated him so bad, doubted his bravery, but in the end he was the only person in the galaxy who stuck with me… He was like my only family, and now he’s gone...”

Shelt placed his robot hand on her arm and nodded. “We’re your family now.”

Lin retreated to a corner and collapsed. Someone put a blanket over her. Her last thought before she fell into troubled dreams was trying to figure out how she could get back to the ship, and get to that loot…

@Sinrebirth @QueenSabe7 @Mitth_Fisto @darthbernael @HanSolo29 @Kalio_Dynkos @Shadowsun @Jerjerrod-Lennox @The Jedi in the Pumas @Zedd-Vega @TheSilentInfluence @galactic-vagabond422 @Master Vo'Un'Var @CosmoHender

 

OOC: Combo with @Mitth_Fisto and @Sinrebirth

IC: Barriss Offee

Uscru District, Coruscant

The violence that she felt wasn't unfamiliar to Barriss, though it still saddened her. Perhaps most people would have walked away from the death and the despair that she sensed. But as a healer, it was Barriss' first instinct to head toward it. However, there was also something here that took a higher priority.

The black transport.

Or more specifically, the artifacts held within the transport. She didn't even need her kyber crystal to tell that the ship's contents were of Sith origin. It reminded Barriss of Umbara...

"Yes, there is power in this," she whispered back to the crystal. "But that power is not mine, nor should it be anyone else's." the ex-Jedi was determined to do the right thing: destroying the transport and the artifacts inside before they could fall into the wrong hands. Because though she didn't know who the ship belonged to or where the artifacts were headed, Barriss knew that she couldn't risk it. And unfortunately, Barriss was not a stranger to explosives.

Barriss walked up to the transport and recognized it as a Fury-class Imperial interceptor. This was the first time she had seen one in person, since previously she had only seen holographic models during her studies in the Jedi Temple. She recalled that these interceptors had been around ever since the Great Galactic War, when they were commonly used by the reconstituted Sith Empire. The ship was also locked up, its current owner having remembered to do so before leaving. Barriss considered using her lightsabers to get inside, though she would first need to check if anybody was watching her.

That was when Barriss sensed she was not the only one interested in the ship and she turned around to face the other party.

Walking through the hidden passages and secrete ways, Tirran Huxley had been able to circumnavigate the battle between the foolish battlers. Let them have their little turf wars, so long as he was able to get his due. Humming a little ditty he had made his way.

Once in range he looked and saw the sleek black vessel. Walking around as he handled a device that looked similar to a port authority device he accidently walked up behind someone else eying the craft. "Terribly sorry, but there is a battle in progress. All civilians are to evacuate the port immediately, this place is not safe and all vehicles are grounded for the duration." he calmly stated eying her up. He almost wanted to ask if she was left handed, instead he settled for a simple question, "Are you the owner of this vessel?" he asked as his suits shutters quivered in anticipation of him possibly needing to cover up from a possible attack. Sith were touchy things after all.

Barriss looked this individual over, her instincts shouting a warning at her. However, she did not show her suspicions. To him, she was just an old woman. And she would play that part.

"This ship?" she asked, feigning ignorance as she gestured toward the ship. "Oh no, it's not mine. But it is a pretty thing. I was just admiring it, since I've never seen a ship like this before." She faked a smile. "And thank you for the concern, though it's unnecessary." Her hands moved subtlety as she attempted a mind trick. "I think that you should move on, go in peace. There is nothing to see here."

Eyes glazing for a moment he smacked his lips, he really should go in peace. "Yeah, nothing to see here. I should go in . . ." wait, what? Go in peace! His business was the carrion of commerce and death, he did not go in peace he went for the pieces not the peace. Why would he leave, he was here about to make the score of the year right here!

"I should go in and make sure the owner has vacated the area, I advise you to leave now. This ship is do for impounding anyway, so maybe you can buy it at the next authorities auction." He stated with a little hop bobble in his tank as he started to move in a wide path around the odd woman. Something wasn't right here.

"There is nobody on that ship," Barriss told him. Nobody alive, at least. Though she suspected that he knew that and that he knew exactly what he was looking for. She once again attempted a mind trick, since it had almost worked last time. "You should move along. Get to safety as well. Forget the ship. It doesn't matter."

The sounds of blaster fire in the background was continuing to increase and he felt the urge to follow the notion of safety. Was it the woman's words or his own thoughts? Only the ship did matter, it was a payday that could make his year. Not that he would change how he lived unless he had to.

Turning to leave he stopped, and then turned back. "Are you left handed?" he simply asked with a puzzled expression on his wrinkly green face.

Barriss shook her head. "Right-handed," she told him. She didn't know why he wanted to know this, but saw no harm in answering. She didn't want to fight him, not unless she had to.

"Huh." he simply bubbled in his tank. Smacking his lips a few times, feeling the situation out, weighing his options. "I need to take this ship to someplace safe where it can be disposed of. Please excuse me while I do my job." stating that he made to walk around her, giving her a bit of a wide berth as something was wrong. Something had been off, and so he began subtly charging his droid bodies combat countermeasures. Just incase that tip of the boys about left handedness doesn't track as true as legends like.

"That's weird," Barriss said, quickly creating a story. "Because I was sent here for the same reason. I'm part of a disposal team and I was given the orders that this ship needed to be taken care of. It's a bit of a shame, since this ship is an older model not really seen around these days. But orders are orders. If the ship has to go, then it goes." She shrugged.

"Indeed." he stated, he didn't really buy it, but if it was true that might mean she was sent by the opposing side of the First Order for the same prize. "Well, shall we get this process started then? Just show me your orders and I'll open her up and we can fly her to the disposal station station hanger. Get her pumped out and into the track for the plasma pit and melted down." He stated with a someone forced tune, tapping his pad a few times bringing up his fake orders for just that and turning the tablet towards her so she could read it whilst he waved for her to show him hers.

"I left my orders in my ship," Barriss explained, gesturing toward her ship. "I didn't think that I would need my tablet on me and I just wanted to get this over with as soon as possible because of what's happening beyond the port. You can come with me back to my ship and I'll show you my orders if that's not a problem."

"You go get your orders, I'll get started here. Always enough paperwork even in a paperless society. Haha, right? Don't worry, I'll wait for you." he stated openly as he began tapping to bring up the hacking protocols to gain entry to the ship.

Barriss nodded and started heading toward her ship, but then closed her eyes and reached out with the Force. She knew that she couldn't keep this bluff going forever, especially since he was more strong-minded that she had hoped. Though she wasn't going to enjoy this, she had no other option. And so with a subtle hand movement, she caused his droid exo-suit to malfunction.

Moving to walk to the ship he felt his suit jitter and shake as it nearly fell over from something not working properly. His tendrils slipped and struggled to maintain his control of the situation but in his attempt he merely caused what he had prepared for self defense to fire off. The suit emitted a high-frequency anti-personal screech as well as firing off it's finger laser into the ground and once into the parked shuttle before he could shut the system down. Struggling to a standing position he quickly tried to take stock of the situation. Where was that woman? Was she actually a Sith? Toying with him?

Barriss had slipped into the shadows, remembering how she learned to hide herself with the Force. Such as when she snuck up on the Sith assassin Asajj Ventress, knocking her out from behind.

That was when we first bonded, the kyber crystal reminded her.

Not a happy memory, but those skills she had then were still useful now. Her hands moved subtly once again, causing another malfunction.

Tripping again, this time to fall down he found he could not see this woman anymore. His suit was being triggered into full defensive mode, but he made sure it now began the hack on the vessel he was here for, if he could the gangway to partially open he could maybe do something, maybe eject and fly into the vessel.

With a gesture of Barriss' hand, a nearby crate floated off the ground and flew into Tirran. Then another crate crashed into him, this time from another direction. She wanted to keep him unfocused and at a disadvantage.

The ship sprang open, completely accessed. It intoned with unhappiness, as most systems did when broken, but it died off as the defenses similarly expired. The ramp slammed to the floor with a clang, and that, well - was that.

Feeling the crates rebound off his exo-suit he enacted a daring plan. He ejected. His capsule dropped down to the ground as his suit stayed in a position on all fours as another crate hit. Bracing for the safety of what was now beneath it. With a final signal the droid body with chest cavity sealed over would stand and emit a blanket sonic attack. The woman had ears, hopefully that would stop her attacks long enough as his capsule shot forward at that same moment like a shot to the open ramp. The suit if able would run backwards as it continued the sonic assault into the ship, while Tirran only had one true objective, get to the cockpit and take off as quickly as possible whilst sealing the ship again with him in command.

And by the time that he had stepped into the cockpit, someone was waiting for him with a lightsaber drawn and its ignited green blade pointed at his chest. Barriss had snuck aboard he had opened the gangway for her, using the crates as a distraction so that he would not see her board the ship with a dash of Force speed. She couldn't help but smirk despite her better judgement.

"Hi again," the old woman said to Tirran. "Thanks so much for opening the ship for me. Saved me the trouble of cutting in myself."

Floating there, bobbing in his hover tank had no better recourse but to sigh to himself. Smacking his lips a few times. "So you are a Sith. Good to know my information on Sith being Left Handed was likely in regards to business dealings and not a literal physical preference. So, shall you kill me now? I am unarmed - literally with my suit back there still."

"I am not a Sith," Barriss told Tirran, hiding her frustration at being called that. "And I do not need to kill you." She reached out with the Force and slammed Tirran against the interior of the ship. She intended to knock him out, then drag him out after setting the ship to explode with its cargo of Sith artifacts. She regret the need for this violence, despite it being necessary.

His hover tank slammed against the wall, his canisters hover systems whining audibly against the unseen pressure shoving him into a wall. Those protruding guardrails the only things on top and bottom of his tank, the only things that likely prevented his tank from shattering as he sloshed about slightly inside his watery enclosure. Natural shock absorber, sometimes it was good to live in a different biome than the rest of the world. For at that moment as his systems whined his exo-suite turned the corner to the bridge and let loose at his remote commands.

A sonic blast his tank was already tuned to cancel out, and so was indiscriminately blasted throughout the whole bridge. Followed by a finger firing laser blasts to try and disable her and her limbs. All the while Tirran floated there where he had been shoved, doing his best to be invisible in thought and presence as he drifted toward the corner.

Barriss' green lightsaber spun, deflecting the laser blasts being fired at her. But it didn't come as easy to her as it should have been, thanks to the sonic attack. It made it difficult for her to focus and she felt something running from her ears.

Blood.

Pain, said the kyber crystal of Ventress' lightsaber. Pain. Tap into it and unleash your power.

Barriss tried to ignore the voice, but somehow it was even louder than the sonics. A laser blast struck her mechanical arm, hurting her concentration. She gasped, tried to remember any techniques that her master could have taught her to help her focus.

But she couldn't think. Not with the sonic attack. Not with her bleeding ears. Not with the crystal which seemed louder than ever, feeding off her own pain in that moment.

Barriss screamed and reached out with the Force again, but tapped into something else this time. Something darker. Something colder. Something fueled by the kyber crystal... and the Sith artifacts on board the ship.

Her cry of pain became a cry of anger as she lashed out, directing her energy toward the source of her pain. And she attacked it.

Seeing her in pain and start to go primal Tirran had his suit begin to back up - to sprint off the ship as soon as she looked like she was charging, all the while keeping up the sonic attack. Occasionally a laser blast as well, but those seemed worthless really. Meanwhile Tirran in his tank sought out a spike interface where he could plug in and take direct control of this ship. If he could just get her out and take off, he just might come out of this venture ahead instead of behind. Only time would tell if there was any anti-intruder mechanisms that he could use or would be turned against him to that end.

But Barriss didn't give chase. Instead, she grabbed the suit with the Force. She didn't destroy it, not completely. But she did silence it before tossing the suit aside. And her ears... they still hurt like hell. She shook her head, trying to suppress the pain. The kyber crystal and the artifacts on the ship were telling her to use that pain, to use it as fuel to make her stronger. Barriss grabbed her head and as she trembled, the ship trembled as well.

No, Barriss thought to herself as her mechanical arm twitched. Don't give in. Don't give in.

But she was hurting and she was angry. It was hard to focus on anything else, hear anything else.

Enough.

She found Tirran at a spike interface and used the Force to pull him away from it. "You and me," she said to him, trying to not let the voices she heard get the better of her. The longer that she was in this ship, the harder it was becoming. "Are going to have a little talk. Who are you? Why are you really here? And who are you working for?"

Tirran smiled in his tank even as he was pulled away from the interface. The ship was awake now. "I am humble Gallusian. I'm here making a living and taking command of this vessel. You are threatening me, and who I work for is my own decision."

The ship did indeed have anti-theft mechanisms, but with a dead owner it didn’t entirely know what it was defending itself from anymore. The defences were lax, and the hack allowed full access, but the ship fired of its own accord, repulsors whining up to activate, tipping the nose of the ship up and sending all manner of item tumbling - Sith artifacts, the freezers, the cut apart corpse -

All sliding towards the ramp top -

Of course, there was a spike in Barriss’ sense of the Force and the red crystal chuckled. You’ve been noticed...

Barriss quickly looked around for something to cling to and found it in the form of a doorway. Her mechanical arm launched onto the handhold and she hung on as the ship tipped upward.

This shouldn't be so difficult, Barriss thought to herself.

The kyber crystal almost seemed to laugh in response.

Shut up, Barriss told it.

She let go of him as the ship lurched to grab onto a handhold. "I would rather not loose the cargo, but between a ship and a cargo? I guess I'ld let you leave with the ship." With that he kicked his repulsors to max power to fly toward the exit, all the ship had to do tilt and spin per the commands he had sent while talking. The contents would dump out and she would have to hold on for dear life, while he flew through the unchanging air to freedom and a payday. It was the artifacts and not the ship after all that was valuable.

Barriss just sighed. "I am getting too old for this..." And with that, she let go of her handhold and flew after Tirran toward the exit of the ship while using the Force to control her descent.

Tag: @Sinrebirth @Mitth_Fisto

 

Combo with Sinre

IC: Luke Skywalker & Rey Skywalker (no relation, lol)
The Eclipse

The Resistance was in full flow – her words sparking a flurry of talk and suggestion. Planning was now underway. The Force beacon on Coruscant and its call to her, Rey had to admit to herself that her needs were selfish and her wants, personal. The ultimate goal would certainly aide her rebel friends greatly, but she inwardly cringed at the thought of sacrificing any of them just to gain answers that had nothing to do with anyone but her.

A sudden nudge, strong and present. The Jedi sensed her attentions being pulled away from the group and into solitude. Rey understood what the Force was telling her and slowly backed away a few steps, turning then to head out of the area. She could feel an urgency, underlying currents of something else elusive to her at the moment. It hastened her feet and she quickly dashed into a vacant room on her right – a sort of makeshift dojo, Finn’s signature lingering upon the various training tools strewn about the well-lit space.

Having come to a halt to peer around, she smiled faintly, imagining him-

‘Pain is an illusion.’

She sucked in a breath. Luke’s voice cutting into her mind and banishing anything else that held her focus.

And then pain, what appeared to be very real pain, laid over her body like a heavy blanket. Rey stumbled, squeezing her eyes shut and grimacing as it increased.

She whined unwillingly and clutched a hand to her cheek, where it abruptly gathered into a focal point. And then her vision swam in and out of reality, her mind’s eye presenting her with a quick flurry of images.

--

A Temple upon a snowy mountain, ancient beyond her meaning of time.

A pair of massive thrones molded from the rock around them, and light shining from somewhere far below.

A crimson blade ignites in the shadows and Rey had an instant of panic, Kylo Ren appearing before her, an attack imminent. He was wearing his mask, his demeanor that of the dark creature who hunted her long ago.

And then he struck. She had but a breath to draw her own weapon and block, to which they fell into the lethal dance of combat. For what seemed to stretch on for hours was broken violently by Kylo catching her on a misstep, and striking one last time, her last image that of his red saber cutting in on her face…

--

‘What did you see?’

Rey found herself on her back, staring up at the ceiling of the dojo, a sheen of sweat upon her forehead. Luke’s voice jolting her back to the present.

She fought to control her breathing.

“Ben. He… he was Kylo again.” Even though it had been a vision of the Force and not reality, yet, it still twisted her stomach to think of such a thing being real.

Luke steps more into the light, a blue limned spirit as he was on Crait, Ach-To and Tatooine all those years ago.

“You saw the future. A mountain. Two thrones in the rock...” He paused, pained. “And yes, Kylo Ren.”

Bringing herself up to a seated position, Rey did not yet look at the illuminated spectre of Master Skywalker. Her eyes were cast down, looking at her hands in her lap.

"The future," she echoed with sadness. The remnants of pain that had wracked her body sent a tremor down her spine. "He lives?" she asked then, raising her gaze to Luke now. Her question was not as hopeful as she thought it would be when confronted with this news. Instead, she was hesitant, filled with anxiety. And sorrow.

"Ben is dead, and Kylo lives once more?"

“I know not what happened,” Luke said, saddened. “He has been in the dark places, where I cannot always see nor go... especially as my time is nearly up.”

He let that hang for a moment, before he pressed on.

“Was he there with you? Do you know where?” His voice was grave; concerned, he sat, much as Obi-Wan once sat besides him.

"We were together, someplace very old. Beyond old - ancient. It was unlike anything I have ever seen." Rey was lost in thought, remember as many details of the vision as she could, although they felt as though they were slipping right through her fingers. "Thrones of stone reached high above us, the space was huge..."

She shook herself, startled back to something Luke had said before. "What do you mean your 'time is nearly up'?"

Luke looked to her, gaze penetrating. “Only so long can one speak from the Force, before the distance between us grows too great. Even my own master, Obi-Wan Kenobi, he could not appear to me forever.”

He paused, before pressing on. “What do you know of Mortis?”

Puzzled, but sticking to the more pressing matter, Rey furrowed her brow as she concentrated. Running through the recesses of her mind, she brought forth anything relating to Master Skywalker's query.

She quickly stood, moving closer to the elder Jedi. "I read of Mortis in the texts; a Force nexus, a place of great power. Old power."

Luke appeared distantly looking for the moment. “It’s an ancient place. From a time before the Jedi, before the Sith. Two thrones, powerful beings. One of darkness, the other of light. Together, they brought balance.”

The Jedi Master is almost present now. All traces of blue light are gone.

“Beneath the Temple of Mortis lies a power beyond anything the Jedi have ever known. If Kylo reaches the Temple, all we’ve fought for will be lost. You have to confront him.”

A heartbeat.

“Kill him.”

As though she had been punched hard and center in her chest, Rey wrapped her arms about her, affronted. "What?" she asked incredulously, her voice growing loud. "Kill him?"

Before she could compose herself, her eyes had already welled with tears, a few overflowing to trail down her cheeks. She felt overly strained, and tired. Very tired. "He saved me," she said, now in a lower, tighter tone. "He literally brought me back from death. And I am to repay him by ending his life?"

She shook her head, pacing in agitation. "Do not ask that of me."

“The Force guides us towards balance. It doesn’t always show us what we want to see.”

He honestly expected an angry response to that; he would have been much the same had his Masters said that sentence to him but he sought to prevent it before it was fully botn. “I know that anger. I had it. My father had it.”

There was noise through the arched opening at the Resistance below; Chewbacca bellowing at Poe. They were both working on the Falcon, as Rose and Finn calibrated the cannons.

“But the Force is speaking to you, Rey,” his voice was soft, appealing to her.

"There is still good in him," she pleaded, more to herself than to her former Master. Did she truly believe that still? She needed more information, more details. Anything.

Rey glanced sidelong at Luke. "I will confront him, but it will be to remind him of who he truly is - Ben Solo. Kylo Ren no longer exists. You know that as well as I do."

All Luke knew was that Ben Solo had returned as Kylo Ren. How this had happened, he could not say. What he could say, was that he had chosen the dark side even after everything that had happened nine years ago.

Rey needed to see that.

Confronting fear is the destiny of the Jedi. Those words, spoken to her to encourage her to go to Exegol and confront Palpatine, reverberated in his mind, and hers.

Was it his fear that Rey would not see the truth? Or her fear that Ben Solo was indeed gone?

He grimaced, in-spite of himself. “If that’s what you believe, then perhaps the Last Jedi is dead.”

At that, he began to fade.

She closed her eyes against the words spoken silently. Fear. She was scared - scared at the notion of seeing Ben again, scared that it would not be Ben that she saw, scared that her Ben was truly lost by now.

Rey had to believe that wasn't true. She had to believe in him as he believed in her. She had to.

If that’s what you believe, then perhaps the Last Jedi is dead.

Turning to face Luke as he said this, she stood straight and watched him as he slowly slipped back into oblivion. "If believing someone can be saved from darkness makes me less a Jedi, then perhaps you are right...."

And she did not move until the old man was gone.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

Fun combo with @Sinrebirth and @darthbernael

IC: Eleanor Magnus, Asteria, Kaz and Xundel
Theed, Naboo

Eleanor had never seen anything as wonderful or beautiful as Naboo, and found herself staring out with awe. She looked at Kaz a few times, and realised she should have figured he had things like estates. Of course he's got an estate. He certainly doesn't act like he does though.

It didn't take them long to get permission to land and as they landed in the hanger, she could hear Asteria speaking about the queen's of Naboo to Kaz. He's gentle with her in his own way. She looked over at him and smiled gently "Asteria hasn't seen anyplace as beautiful as this. I hope you don't mind all her questions Kaz." Eleanor said, before she felt a change in the force. I should probably ask our newcomer some questions first. Hopefully he doesn't mean any harm.

When the streaks of hyper faded Xundel checked the galactic map to determine where the Jedi had brought him. Along with the location he received a little data about the system and how it had been involved in events in the time that he had been gone. When the two craft reached the planetary approach he was concerned as his craft wasn’t registered in any database so he was expecting questions and a ‘nice’ little talk with Customs. But whoever was on that other craft, besides the Jedi, seemed to have some pull as both craft were cleared and allowed to land.

He followed them, being led to a hangar attached to a very large structure, one the planetary database identified as the Royal Hangar. When he received that data his forehead wrinkled as his eyebrows raised. With a deft touch he followed them into the hangar and landed in an open berth. He sat in the cockpit for a couple minutes wondering how he’d ended up in a palace just trying to have a discussion with the Jedi who was on that craft.

In the bay with the craft he’d followed he saw the ramp lower, a man, a woman, and a younger female human all exit the craft. He could feel the Force present with the women, at least, and he sighed, ’Time to try again.’ he thought. Whether she’d heard the thought or not he noticed the woman stiffen slightly, most likely as she felt his presence in the Force.

Cracking the canopy of the craft, he let the ladder fold into place before he lifted himself up out of the seat and began the hopping motion necessary to reach the deck. When he did, he set the cap of his cane on the ground, a small smile as it began to click on the smooth floor as he crossed the distance between himself and the little group. ”Hallo…..I’m Xundel.” he said, his voice slightly raised, as friendly as it could sound.

Eleanor watched as another craft entered the hanger and the man known as xundel exited. She watched as he walked over and introduced himself. He seems...I can quite figure it out.

"My name is Eleanor." Eleanor greeted politely. She added, "What can I do for you?"

”Hmmm, used to my kind, are you?” he asked, looking up at her.

He shrugged, ”Of course, Yoda.” Shaking his head he looked back up, ”Nomi sent me, suggested I find you. It may take a bit to explain so if you’d prefer not to do so standing in the middle of a hangar we can find somewhere to sit.”

"Not really. My mother knew Master Yoda, but I never met him." Eleanor replied. She was surprised to hear that Nomi had sent him. She looked back at Kaz as Xundel suggested somewhere to sit. "Is there somewhere near the hanger we could talk?" She asked him.

Kaz looked up from Asteria. “There’s a room over there - a private one.” He pointed. “You’re okay with me staying with Asteria?”

“I’m not a child!”

“No, you’re not,” he amended, hastily, smiling.

Xundel smiled, a small expression, at the independent statement by the younger human female. Youth indeed. He nodded to the man, looking over to where he’d indicated before turning back to Eleanor, ”Shall we?” he asked, then began to walk in his shuffling gait toward the room.

Eleanor shook her head. "No, I don't mind at all." She told him with a smile. She looked at Asteria. "Listen to Kaz." She told her gently, "and thank you." Eleanor looked at Kaz again. "We won't be long." Eleanor followed Xundel.

Xundel heard her walking behind him and, given their size difference, she caught up by the time they reached the room. He opened the door, reaching for a switch or sensor to turn the lights on. When they came up, he gestured inside, ”Ladies first.”

Eleanor looked down at Xundel. "Thank you." Eleanor kept her senses up as she turned her back to him, and then turned around to face him as she sat down on a bench.

He waited while she sat then hobbled over to a bench opposite her. Pulling himself up, his three toed feet dangled, as he looked over at her. ”Hmmm, now where to begin…” he mused.

"Maybe you could start at the beginning?" Eleanor suggested with a wry smile. "Why were you sent to me?"

He chuckled, ”Well, the reason she sent me is that a former Jedi who was there that I spoke to first was unwilling to listen. She had a vision and gave me you as someone who might consider what I had to say, the reason I was gone for the last eight decades.”

Eleanor sighed. "Oh well. I can try to help you." She looked a little weary, but understood. "What happened to you?" She asked.

Xundel reached up, tapping one claw against his chin for a moment, ”I was once a Jedi. I served the Republic, protected its citizens, guided them as needed. After many missions I received permission to study in the Archives. In some of the deepest sections I discovered things that seemed contrary to the Jedi teachings, not Sith, but not the same.”

His eyes glazed in thought, in memory, ”I went to the Council, received permission to study, to travel and discover more. And that was the very start. What I discovered is why I have returned.”

"So you found something in the middle of being a Jedi and Sith?" Eleanor asked. She nodded to herself. "You must have seen much. What was it like to be a Jedi back then? My mother only remembered a little." But she never spoke about it much.

Xundel’s eyes refocused, looking over at Eleanor, ”I was part of the Order for a long time. There was a time that we were the shining light that everyone believes the Jedi should be. But politics, taking too much of a part in the day to day function of the Republic, you could see how we were becoming less the guardians of Light and more policemen, judges, and soldiers of a sort.”

He sighed, ”I suppose that was why I wanted to study in the Archives, try to find how we could return to those roots. But what I found was that our roots were something quite different from what we were taught.” He paused, looked at her intently, ”Have you ever heard of the Prime Jedi?” he asked quietly.

Eleanor nodded along as Xundel spoke. It must have been hard, and she didn't really understand why the Jedi would have wanted to be apart of politics in the first place. The Prime Jedi?

"No. I haven't. Were they a separate Order?"

He smiled, tapping his cane on the floor for a moment. ”Yes and no...the Jedi came from the Prime Jedi...as did the Sith. You see, that is what I found, first in the Archives and then in the following decades. I travelled to find the lost Jedi worlds and from them into the Unknown Regions.”

He shifted, his feet swaying as he moved, ”I let my senses, and the Force, guide me to each locale. And found we’d been lied to. There was, to begin, only one order of Force users. The Prime Jedi was the head of that order. One thing he said that may explain it was ‘I am the Light in the Darkness and the Dark in the Light.’ He and his Jedi believed that balance was the key.”

Shaking his head sadly, ”It was only years after his death that things broke down. Instead of continuing as they had been formed, and taught, those who more followed the light grew more fearful of those who more followed the dark. And thus the first schism occurred when those who came to be known as Jedi expelled every dark oriented Force user from the order. And every war since could find itself linked back to that original schism.”

"Hm." Eleanor wasn't sure what to make of this. She knew about the history of Jedi to a degree. The wars they fought with the Sith. It didn't surprise her that they had come from the same place, and perhaps it should have. But she had seen enough of the galaxy to know that anything was possible.

"So are you suggesting things go back to what they were? No light or dark, just force users?"

Xundel nodded, she was quick on the uptake, ”The Jedi and Sith fighting constantly, or at least every few decades, has been the driving force for every conflict since that time I mentioned. I’m not saying this would be easy or simple but yes that is what I want to try to make happen.”

He thought about the conversations with Barriss and Nomi, ”I want to find those who are willing to accept this as a hope to end this neverending cycle of war. Those who can work together best working in a form of harmony. And each side watching over, trying to guide, or finding a way to stop those who could be potential extremists at either end of the spectrum.”

"It might be impossible." Eleanor mused. "But you might have a chance. I'm getting tired of all the fighting." Eleanor paused. "I need to do what's best for Asteria." She added, and crossed her arms. "Do you have many members yet?"

Xundel let out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding, ”If you do decide to assist me in this, you would be the first beside myself. I cannot deny that.” He recalled something Nomi had said, ”If there is some way to take care of her, Nomi did tell me something about providing sanctuary where she lives, even if she hasn’t decided whether she will assist otherwise.”

"I haven't decided anything yet." Eleanor replied. "But I do not think your idea is bad. I'd like to speak to Nomi as well before I make a decision." She explained. And I have a responsibility to Asteria. Kaz too, probably. For saving my life.

"I would need to think it over and discuss it with my family." Eleanor said with a nod, thinking about her family on Concord Dawn and Asteria. "I can't just abandon Kaz either." She added. "I just need a few days, if we have the time"

He smiled, ”I didn’t expect you to make it right now. But just the fact that you did not just say no or believe me crazy for believing this is possible means a lot.”

He chuckled once more, ”As to time, unless those who are so powerful make it otherwise, I believe we have some time to allow you to think and discuss before you decide. I wouldn’t try to get you to decide without that happening.”

Eleanor smiled back, "Thank you." She stood up, "You've spoken the most sense out of anyone I have met for a long time." She laughed and motioned her hand, "shall we get back to the others?"

Xundel smiled, then hopped off the bench, landing lightly, the cane barely tapping the surface of the floor before he made his way back to the door, ”Yes, we should, before your young ward begins to worry.” he said as he opened the door, once more gesturing to let her precede him through the door.

Eleanor smiled at that and wondered if Asteria was still pestering Kaz with questions. She nodded him thanks as Xundel opened the door and went ahead of him to join Asteria and Kaz again.

Asteria looked up at Eleanor as they wandered out. “Is the Cranky Yoda coming?”

“Shush,” Kaz said, grinning in-spite himself. “Sorry, sir.”

The young Padawan glanced back. “Sorry! I want to go see Kaz’s home!” The Chiss looked up at Eleanor, clearly wanting to speak to her separately, even though he had taken responsibility for the child for the moment. His expression was also asking Eleanor whether they could leave Asteria with Xundel while they did.

Eleanor choked on a laugh and quickly covered it up. "Asteria don't be rude." She paused. "But yes he is. He needs our help." She looked at Kaz as he met her gaze, curious. He wants to speak with me alone? At least, that's the feeling I'm getting.

"Asteria sweetheart, would you mind staying right here with Mister Xundel and Whistler for me? I need to speak to Kaz for a moment before we go to his home." She looked at Xundel. "Could you watch her for a few minutes?:

Xundel had stumped out of the room, following behind Eleanor. He was in a better mood than when he’d gotten here because the talk had gone well, or as well as could be expected. As he’d told her, he’d not believed that she’d give him a definite answer right then, but that she was thinking about it was a relief.

When the younger female called him Cranky Yoda he snorted, then tried to cough to cover it up. He looked up at Eleanor when she asked him, ”I’ll stay with her, yes. Should be interesting.”

Eleanor smiled. "Thank you." She turned to Kaz. "Shall we go talk then?" She asked him.

Tag: @Sinrebirth @darthbernael

 

IC: Barriss Offee & Tirran Huxley - A Combo with CosmoHender & Sinrebirth

"Jedi!"

Barriss gave a quiet groan, something that her old master would have never approved of. I am so done with this right now.

She took a deep breath, regaining her focus, then turned toward the stormtroopers. Her hands moved subtlety as she reached out with the Force and manipulated the minds of the troopers, much more easily when she attempted the trick on Tirran.

"There is no Jedi," she told them. "And there is nothing to see here. You are needed elsewhere. Move along."

Floating slowly down and toward the scroll he was trying to take was seemed more important to him. Knowledge. Then of course he had an important comm call, troopers shouting Jedi - which doesn't that just figure, and of course the crazy lady in question doing that hand wavy thing to the troopers. Is that what was happening to him earlier? Hand wavy, cut audio. Got it.

Still he had to handle this situation, activating his tanks external holoprojector he made sure to rotate the image so it was facing the troopers. "Hux-Hux Baby!" he decided to add. Not exactly the best comm opener, but it was sure to grab everyone's attention. "See the Jedi?" he couldn't resist adding.

The Chancellor bit across the comms. “Force using scum! Shoot her!” The troopers were befuddled, and Hux expanded his range. “I hereby order all troopers outside the Uscru Port to kill the intruder!”

There were another sixteen troopers outside the port, and they would ignore whatever orders that the Vice Chancellor gave to march on Dol Khan’s location, rushing to the entrance - but they could only enter four at a time. Barriss would have to decide whether to fight it out or go. Or surrender, her crystal whispered.

Barriss sighed. The moment that she had dreaded was here. Though she could run or surrender, she knew neither would solve the problem.

I have to fight.

She reached into her robe and pulled out the hilt of a lightsaber. She ignited its green blade, taking a moment to show it off. Barriss sensed hesitation from the troopers, even fear. She couldn't blame them, especially if they knew the stories of what someone like her could do to them. A voice, she wasn't sure if it was the crystal or her own, was telling her to kill them all. But she wouldn't. These troopers weren't here by choice. They were as much victims of the First Order as anyone else. She would not slaughter them for that.

Barriss gave a deep breath. "I am one with the Force and the Force is with me."

When the first laser fired, it passed through empty hair where Barriss had been standing moments earlier. The former Jedi was sailing through the air and landed with ease. Then she began disarming the troopers. Her lightsaber swung, cutting through blasters and deflecting beams. She sought to only disarm and defend, not murder.

Troopers were thrown across the port. Crates were thrown into them. More came, following Hux's orders, but their attempts met the same outcome. Barriss was in the moment, focused and determined. Eventually only she was left standing, surrounded by the unconscious bodies of troopers. Her robes were somewhat singed, but she was otherwise fine.

Disappointing, the crystal whispered, but she didn't care. She had touched the dark earlier when on that ship, in a moment of pain and anger. At least this time she had stayed in control.

Tirran hadn't stayed around, which didn't surprise Barriss. His kind always fled in situations like this. Barriss knew that this wasn't a victory, not really. She had failed to destroy the ship and now she was exposed. Which the crystal mocked her for.

What now? Barriss wondered, looking at the artifacts and bodies scattered around her.

Not being one to gawk about when a plan works in his favor, Tirran quickly grabbed the scroll while seeing to it that his suit - heavily damaged though it be - move to grab items. With a suit hastily filled chest cavity and burgeoning arms it made off down one alley to storage suit Charlie while Tirran headed out of the space port by floating off the edge and up and over through an access port. As for the battle, he really didn't care.

Having turned off the hologram when the battle started he nodded to the small inset screen once he was away. "Call you back." he stated as he closed one connection and sent a message to the ship - a self-destruct order. Best way to cover his tracks at this point.

The Force began to build with the familiar crescendo of a timer, a sensation that Barriss would recognise. What she wouldn’t know, is how long she had - could she reach her ship and get it into the air? Could she fight through the troopers and flee out the way they were streaming in? Or would she have to dive off the platform?

For Tirran of course, at least one of the Stormtroopers shouted for him to stop and began shooting at him! Just to compound an escape, of course!

Barriss' instincts told her to run and she did, having bought herself some time before reinforcements came. She sprinted toward her ship, using the Force to do so. She didn't bother to pick up any of the Sith artifacts, she knew that she didn't have time. She mentally scolded herself, knowing that all of this had been for nothing. The only thing that she had achieved was making her time on Coruscant harder for herself.

If you had just killed the Gallusian when you had the chance, this wouldn't be an issue. The crystal was talking to her again. And perhaps it would have been easier, but that is the nature of the dark side. Easier, but not more powerful.

Barriss leapt the few remaining feet and landed on the boarding ramp, not even slowing down. She closed the ramp behind her, rushed to the cockpit, and rushed a take-off.

"Come on, come on," she whispered to herself. She didn't know what came next, she just knew that she had to get off this platform now.

Flicking a few settings his pod began playing a jaunty tune as he started getting shot at. Bob and weave, left and right, up and down, and round and round. The last is because spinning is always a good idea. Feeling the tempo he started singing along as he made his great escape, either he would live and make money or he would die doing what he loved - singing and making money whilst doing it! All he had to do was make it over the edge of the platform and he would be away.

"
It's not unusual to be loved by anyone
It's not unusual to have fun with anyone
But when I see you hanging about with anyone
It's not unusual to see me cry
Oh I wanna' die
It's not unusual to go out at any time
But when I see you out and about it's such a crime
If you should ever want to be loved by anyone
It's not unusual
It happens every day
No matter what you say
You find it happens all the time
Love will never do what you want it to
Why can't this crazy love be mine
It's not unusual, to be mad with anyone
It's not unusual, to be sad with anyone
But if I ever find that you've changed at anytime
It's not unusual to find out that I'm in love with you
Whoa oh oh oh oh!"

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

Lin
Den of the Lost Boys



Lin awoke - or, more accurately, regained consciousness - some time later. Her head hurt. Who was she kidding? She was too young and her physique too small to take alcohol in that amount. She blinked in the artificial light. Was it morning or evening? Did these words have any meaning here?

She started with alarm when she found someone crouching nearby and staring at her. Oh, just Dade.

For some reason she had a flash of memories from her troubled dreams, and felt like she did not like Tung's eyes on her. But Dade was just a boy, innocent. It was unfair that he had fallen into this life. Just like me...

She shook her head. No time to fall into despair now. Gotta be strong. The head shake brought on fresh lances of pain to her temples and she wobbled as she stood up.

Now then, a new day. Priorities...

Lin looked thoughtfully at Dade. "I need to get back to the space port. I have a ship there with... my stuff on it. Can you please take me there?"

Her stomach rumbled and she glanced at the supply crates. "Oh, and can we take something for breakfast, to go?"

@Sinrebirth

 

OOC: Fight time fun with @The Jedi in the Pumas and @Sinrebirth

IC: Agent Johnson, Dol Khan
Location: Uscru District, Coruscant

All of it. The positions, how many troops, what kind of air resistance he could face.

Dol Khan receives all the information through the earpiece he retrieved from Agent Brown. As he descends the steps of the Opera House, he feels the surge of energy. He forwards all the information, live, to the Resistance cells on Coruscant. The First Order was preparing to seal off the area. It was only a matter of time before they regained control of the Galaxies Opera House electrical grid. Faster than he had anticipated though.

The door to the Opera House opens.

Dol Khan pulls his blaster from the holster.

An Agent. The other Agent stands there.

Agent Johnson. Sent to retrieve the Daughter Graul. Or...

...Execute Dol Khan.

The Prime Chow was ready. He feeds it the command.

"Agent Johnson...Foreplay bores me."

He had new orders, secure the Vice Chancellor's daughter and make sure she was safe and secure as Aryan Graul himself was on his way.

But that woman's voice came back again. She was worried their secret had been found out. That their secret meetings had been tracked. That they had been found out…

With power restored the doors opened and he could see his fellow Agent down and dead on the floor. He was about to report to Commander Sellik that he had found Brown and was going to head towards Jalynn…

When the Kubaz appeared. Drawing his blaster and making a remark.

Cocky the little voice piped up, just like some people we used to know…

Johnson touches his earpiece "The Kubaz is at the Opera House, all security teams to my location".

He did not draw his blaster. Johnson simply stared the Kubaz doen. Let him make the first move.

And his second and third move.

Dol Khan does not move to attack, though he remains ready. The call for other security teams. Bringing them all to one location would play in his favor. He navigates through his comlink with his left hand and maintains his blaster in his right. He sends a command to the Prime Chow to wait...wait until the moment is right. The Prime Chow was a regular starfighter for now. The massive access he had to First Order ship identification codes would serve to mask its approach and escape. The upload to Resistance cells continued and he signaled to them that they could now begin the Second Phase of the day:

The Targeting of the VIPs.

The surveillance that was done earlier on the planetary traffic and the massive attention that was being paid to the Galaxies Opera House and the insurgency that had taken place in the District would leave the VIPs with minimal security details and a severe lack of backup to call on. The Resistance would even know where the Vice Chancellor was given the live feed he was broadcasting thanks to the deceased Agent Brown's earpiece.

This was what the death of DJ had brought the First Order. This was why the sacrifice of the Lost Boys had been necessary. Dol Khan always has to keep the bigger picture of what they fight for in his mind when he makes every calculated decision. Every loss and every gain.

Dol Khan's continues to finger his comlink, navigating and commanding, directing traffic, all while the staredown with Agent Johnson continued.

It would take a few moments for the teams by the port to disentangle themselves from the report of the Jedi. Indeed, it depended how badly things went there as to how well it went here.

Unless of course Agent Johnson brought this all to an end here.

The Project is focused upon differing methods of efficiency. Whereas some Agents will be fitted with implants, some will be merely conditioned and trained. Others will receive flash imprinting, and others still will have parts of their brain replaced...

A horrified woman’s voice as she read aloud.

But indeed, the Kubaz had plenty on the earpiece of Agent Brown; the location of the Vice Chancellor, the scuttlebutt about something Sith, the report of a Jedi.

So too would Agent Johnson, but how relevant it would be to him was unknown; if it was at all.

They could both ask themselves; was it her? The Last Jedi? That, he could not possibly know.

The voice again, the second woman's voice. The voice of the scientist. Telling him his fate essentially, telling him what his lover did not.

Trying to get him out, her saying she loved him but he could not love her back. Thinking there was some hope of escape. And then the scientist was gone, replaced by another. Being broken….

Your compliance will be rewarded. Are you ready to comply?

I am ready to comply….

The staredown with Dol continued. Reports were coming in of a Jedi in the vicinity. But his main focus was Dol at the moment. He had to get past him to get to Jalynn Graul. And he seemed to be pulling all the strings.

Very cocky this one the little voice piped up very sure of himself.

The Silencer, Johnson's ship was always fully fuelled and on standby. If worst came to the worst he would call for it.

It seemed the Kubaz wasn't moving….so Johnson did.

There was one last thing Dol had to do. He is not sure it worked but then there were multiple loud dull thuds in the Opera House and around the small sector surrounding it. Now he is certain.

The Kubaz exercised his last bit of control over the sewage system (after guessing correctly that he was not locked out of that system) and initiated a flood. The relief pathways for the sewage system were locked and the system was shut down. Now no one has access and it would take manual openings of all the valves to return the system to normal.

This would take hours, maybe even days to fix.

In the meantime, potholes, bathrooms, sinks, and pools of the Uscru district would overflow with water and back sewage. This also meant that Jalynn Graul, who Dol knew from Agent Brown’s headpiece earlier, was going to drown in one of the worst ways to die.

When the Agent moved, Dol tucks his comlink, the damage complete, and moves as well. Agent Johnson is faster than Dol. Dol does not try to run. He keeps his blaster trained on the Agent and strafes to the side, towards the cellar.

“I’ve flooded the sewage system, Agent Johnson! Can you kill me and save the Vice Chancellor’s daughter in time?”

With the strafe to the side, Agent Johnson’s path upstairs and to the Don’s quarters where the young Graul was located is now open.

The Kubaz was still being cocky. It would be his undoing.

He ignored the taunts and the fact the door to the Opera House was now clear. Johnson's target was the Kubaz, and nothing else. And the female voices nor his little voice were going to distract him now.

The Kubaz started shooting at him, Johnson uses his agility to dodge the bolts, if the Kubaz ran, he would pursue. And of course it would be a shame if he did run, this fight had been coming.

As he neared the Kubaz Johnson span and delivered a high kick towards the Kubaz's face.

If Agent Johnson could see Dol’s face, he would be seeing the Kubaz smiling.

Fascist dogs have one track minds.

It was their critical failure.

Dol cannot match the Agent’s speed. Dodging the kick was out of the question. He takes the brunt of the kick to his forearm as he blocks it.

Dol’s other hand is tucked to his side, the blaster pointed towards the Agent. Close range, Dol’s fires two bolts towards Johnson’s mid-section.

The high kick connected with a forearm but still the Kubaz did not fight back. Unlike Lin who went for him with a knife, the Kubaz decided to go with a blaster.

Dirty fighter eh? Came the little voice I have to say that Lin was more impressive at the moment….

Twisting his body as he swung around again a shot grazed his jacket but nothing more. This time he spun himself the full 360 degrees, delivering a spinning kick to the arm holding the blaster.

Johnson wanted this fight to be a physical one. A proper test of his abilities.

The kick smashes into Dol’s arm, knocking the blaster across the lobby. His core was braced for the impact so Dol was not sent flying, but he felt the vibrations down to his boots. He is not one to linger on the pain.

Dol surges forward, pulling the Agent’s head into a clinch before he has time to pull his leg back. Dol lands not one, but back-to-back direct power knees to Johnson’s organs under his ribcage.

There was success with disarming the Kubaz but the Kubaz finally struck with grabbing Johnson's head. He nearly doubled over with the blows the breath coming out of his body.

He steadied himself with his feet planted on the ground just in case the Kubaz tried to throw him. Luckily his arms were still free. He wouldn't be able to swing them back too far but he did start throwing short punches at the Kubaz's body to try and get him to let go.

The punches.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom.

Even with his core braced, Dol Khan bites down at the pain. He slams another outside knee into the same spot he hit before. He hears the breath escape Johnson. But he feels the sturdiness of the man’s stance. He’s heavy...

Another punch lands to his ribs and Dol Khan grunts in pain.

He pulls all his weight down on Johnson’s neck before exploding upwards with a knee that smashes into Johnson’s face.

Johnson was now struggling to breathe. The pressure on his neck was getting worse. And he could end unconscious or worse.

And then the knee in his face. His head explodes in pain, fireworks going off in his head. Johnson's punches stop as he is disorientated. But he can see as his head snaps upwards that the Kubaz is disorientated too. And he could use it to his advantage.

Grabbing the Kubaz's arms not knowing if this was going to work or not, Johnson bent his knees slightly, lifted the Kubaz up.

And with all his strength threw him upwards so hopefully he would fly over his head.

The room went upside down and Dol Khan saw the ceiling before slamming down on the hard, ornate floor of the Opera House lobby. The power from the Agent... it could have been worse. Much worse. But the knee to his face had landed solidly and the Agent was in a world of pain.

Dol Khan’s back causes a crack in the floor. He knows he doesn’t have a moment to think. His bruised ribs and sore back. No. It’s not about him or his pain. He was fighting for more. For everyone. He could take it. The damage. The pain.

Get the **** up! MOVE!

“AAAHHHHHH!!!”

The Kubaz rolls to his knees, sees the Agent, and staggers back to his feet. He spits blood on the outdated carpet and charges, tackling Johnson to the ground!

Johnson turns around drawing in gasps of air. As he was throwing the Kubaz he could see the first woman, his lover, turning towards him and smiling. The little voice was calling him, telling him to carry on so he could see her again.

He can see the Kubaz is down, but somehow the alien finds enough strength to pull himself up, charge at him and knock him over. The move catches him by surprise and Johnson ends up on a hard landing on his back, his breath coming out in a whoosh again.

Johnson had to get him off, he tried to move his legs underneath the alien to try and kick him off, with one hand he grabbed Kubaz's snout, the other trying to shove the alien off.

The little voice was screaming at him to tell the Kubaz who he really was. Who he used to fight for…

That they used to be on the same side.

Johnson’s grip around Dol’s snout is absolute. Dol can’t breathe but grabs the hand that is strangling him with one hand and uses the other to secure the arm attached to it. He uses Johnson’s pushes to spin to the side and drops his legs across Johnson’s chest and throat. The armbar is secure and Dol pulls back .... back... back...

The snapping of his precious arm will force the Agent to let go.

Johnson felt the arm go.

The little voice was screaming.

His Agent voice was not.

He felt pain shoot down his arm up to his shoulder and he had to release his grip on the Kubaz's snout. And now his breathing was being restricted again.

And all Johnson could see...was his lover. He could see her fully now. And Johnson was perhaps resigned to the fact he may never see her again. That perhaps he was never meant to.

But he had to fight on until he was dead, and he still had his other arm…

With a deep breath he moved his other arm and secured his other hand on the Kubaz''s snout. And this time his grip was pure iron.

Dol scratches at the Agent’s hand to no relief. His boots kicking at Johnson do nothing to lessen his assailant’s hold... the hold. The hold of the First Order... choking the life out of the people. No...

Dol’s kicking comes to an end and he releases Johnson to trigger his last resort:

The Prime Chow...

With orders to come in, rapidly, destroying the Opera House with its lasers...

If one could not liberate the house, he’d bring the whole house down.

His craft had been positioned close-by, and did as directed - lasers ripped into the roof of the Opera House, blowing durasteel and glass out into the Uscru District - and down into the battle between and upon the two of them -

Johnson was still hanging on to the Kubaz's snout as if it was the last thing he was going to do in this life. If he went, he would take the Kubaz with him.

Small victory if that.

He heard over his earpiece panicked voices over the comm, a fighter was coming in…

Then a bright explosion, glass and steel flying everywhere. Johnson had to let go of the Kubaz's snout as he was sent flying.

It meant that he had given the Kubaz a chance to escape but it was either that or be skewered. Johnson's broken arm was throbbing with pain, he had cuts and bruises everywhere but he was thankfully still functional.

He touched his earpiece "A ship has fired on the Opera House, most likely from the Kubaz. I have been attacked and unable to pursue. All teams, stop this fighter from escaping Coruscanti space".

Johnson pulled himself up, he would no doubt have to explain why he took on the Kubaz instead of rescuing Jalynn Graul.

Dol rolls to his stomach and looks up towards an opening in the Opera House side wall created by one of the Prime Chow’s attacks.

He doesn’t look back at the Agent. He has to survive. He only pushes forward.

The Prime Chow lowers itself to the opening and Dol staggers to the edge, dropping out of the side of the building into the cockpit of his awaiting ship.

“Go.” He commands from a raspy snout as the cockpit closes. The day was not over. He was not done. No. There would only be relief when he was away. That was the next challenge.

TAG: @Sinrebirth , @The Jedi in the Pumas , @HanSolo29 (for info)

 

IC: Eleanor, Kaz
Naboo

Kaz nodded and lead her back into the room she’d just used to speak to Xundel. “I just wanted to catch my breath and explain what happened - when you saved me.”

“Which I’m grateful for, incidentally,” he belatedly added.

Eleanor followed Kaz into the room, listening. He doesn't need to explain anything. Kaz helped us. That's enough. "Okay...let's sit." She turned to the bench nearby and sat down, gently taking Kaz's hand as she did so he would get the message to sit next to her before she let go. "What happened Kaz?"

“Force users hold a special place in Chiss society. The Skywalker’s are our navigators, almost always female, and they usually lose their abilities when before become young adults.”

“They very rarely acquire the skills to use the Force for telekinesis, and if they do, then they are shunned from society and driven out, as dangerous aberrations.” Kaz’s eyes unfocused. “I can probably name three Chiss who reached the level that they would be considered Force users by the Jedi and Sith... and they were roped into that dichotomy and conflict, in-fact.”

“The Chiss were allies of the Sith in your war against them millennia ago...” he looked at Kaz. “There’s a museum on Csilla dedicated to the conflict... and with recent events involving the Jedi and Sith... I think I’ve absorbed some of our prejudices.” Kaz sounded unhappy. “I’ve managed to avoid meeting Kylo Ren, but I always worried how I would react.”

Eleanor paused. "Oh." She didn't say anything for a few moments, trying to process the information that Kaz had given her. So he's just prejudiced then? "I can understand why you reacted the way you did." She frowned and looked at him. "I'm sorry I lied to you. I didn't tell you we were Jedi because most people don't react well, and I have to protect Asteria."

"I've met Kylo Ren before. Trust me Kaz, you don't need to get involved with someone like that. He's too full of hate." Eleanor said softly, "He was like most or his life."

She tried to smile at Kaz. "So do you have any questions? You saved our lives, the least I can do is help you understand?"

Kaz paused, processing. "Um, if you're a Jedi, are you one of the celibate ones, or the modern ones, that are allowed to marry and have kids, like Leia Organa-Solo?" The Chiss had an even tone, as if he wasn't invested in the question.

"And what about Xundel? Is he going to take you away on some... Force quest?" Kaz was clearly trying to work out her, and what he was doing here.

Eleanor blushed. She looked a little startled at the question and tried to formulate an answer. "I'm...a modern Jedi. I'd like to have a big family one day, if I met the right person." She eyed Kaz curiously, "I just haven't had that opportunity yet. To have a family, I mean."

She swallowed hard, moving to his second question. "It's not really a force quest, he just wants to create a new branch of the Order. One that meets in the middle. Neither light nor dark." Eleanor sensed his uncertainty in the force. "But I won't be leaving Asteria. And if you...if you want to stay with us; I'd be okay with that. It's my fault you were brought into this situation. "

Kaz nodded slowly... "I want to, um, see if I can keep up with you," he smiled slightly. "I want a family, too." The Chiss paused. "I hope I wasn't too forward, Eleanor. I just wanted to understand where I stood... as I've basically abandoned everything I had built." It was a bit sobering, to say it like that.

"I'm sure you could." Eleanor replied, "You don't strike me as someone who would shy away from doing the right thing." She paused, and looked away from Kaz. He wants a family too? That's uh nice.

"You weren't too forward, I'm just not used to the attention." She admitted. "You know, my brother Pre is head of our clan, maybe I could talk to him about getting you a job as a diplomat?"

He smiled slightly, eyes meeting hers until she turned aside. "Your clan?" He frowned. "What kind of clan?"

A role as a diplomat would be brilliant, of course, but such positions did not materialize overnight. The galaxy was a messy one, at that, and diplomacy was all that was keeping the factions from ripping into each other.

"I'm Mandalorian Kaz. It's a family type of Clan. Or those who swear allegiance to us. My father Paz was head of Clan Vizsla before my little brother Pre officially took over." Eleanor explained. "We watch out for each other, protect each other. You don't have to be Mandalorian to join at first, but you would have to learn about the Resol'nare."

She looked at Kaz again with a smile. "I'm sure he would like you though. I could pull some strings to get you to speak with each other at least, but I would be responsible for your education if you chose to become Mandalorian. So we really wouldn't be apart."

Kaz lit up. “I’d like to stay nearby, if that’s alright - and get to know your clan.” He smiled. “I’ve never met a Mandalorian, but I’ve heard the stories, even in the Unknown Regions.”

He had reached out in his excitement, hand brushing her arm before he caught himself.

Eleanor smiled back as she felt his excitement in the force, and shifted closer as his hand brushed her arm. "I'd like that Kaz." She looked as excited as he did, placing a hand between them. "What do you know about Mandalorians?"

He took her hand in his, ignoring the question, looking down at it and then back at her. His expression was questioning, in-fact.

Eleanor gave Kaz a worried look, but let him take her hand. "Is everything alright Kaz? You look...curious about something?" She felt shy, but not uncomfortable.

"Just wanted to be sure this was okay," he said, and leaned into kiss her.

Eleanor looked startled as Kaz leaned in to kiss her, and met his lips tentatively. I really need to learn to read people better. She moved forward to deepen the kiss and placed a hand on his leg, as she moved closer-

He enfolded her in his arm, cupped her chin -

And then the door began to open!

Eleanor relaxed into Kaz's arms, looping her other arm around his waist before she felt a change in the force.

The door!

Eleanor gently tried to pull away, "Kaz, the door-"

Tag: @Sinrebirth @darthbernael

 

( A combo post between @Sinrebirth and myself)

IC Rhoen Aquilla
Aquilla Homestead

Rhoen finished breakfast quickly before moving to the barn to work on putting things back to make it look like the space wasn't used as a temporary hangar. He moved the tractor up against the wall and using a broom to cover up the wake of the repulsors. It didn't have to be prefect just enough that it didn't draw attention. At least Syal was careful when she left, not going full blast out of the gate. Though she was always more cautious than him. He was always the one bursting out of the hangar with the throttle maxed. His record was littered with his impatience. Cutting in front of his commander in launch order, breaking formation to engage the enemy, being the first to spring an ambush in an asteroid field. He can still remember the lecture he got from his superior after that...his superior being Syal at the time.

Another long breath left him as he rested his head against one of the pillars. Maybe he should have gone with her, maybe he should still leave. He would be with his love, they would be back where they first met, in the cockpits of fighters taking on impossible odds, fighting with the passion of children with nothing to lose.

But he couldn't go back to that, they had plenty to lose, they had already lost everything, giving years of their life in the fight against the First Order only to see it reform and darken the galaxy again. The old wood of the barn pillar creaked a little as he pressed more against it.

She was gone, she wasn't coming back, she was going to die up there and for what? The dark thoughts swriled in his mind. Why? Why was she throwing her life away, why couldn't she see this was a losing battle, that she was harming Val, robbing her of her mother.

The anger started to rise in his chest again, how could she do this to him, how could she just leave him, was he not enough, not what she wanted.

He beat his head against the solid wood trying to beat those thoughts out of him. She still loved him, she was just trying to do what was right, what he should be doing. But, he couldn't shake the inevitability of it all that no matter how hard he fought or what he gave up it would never bring about the peace he wanted.

A long growl left his throat, the indecision, the hopelessness, the empty feeling he had without his other half there.

"Daddy!" Val called out Rhoen turned his head to see his daughter once again coming out to fetch him.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Some men are here...they look scary..."

Oh no...

There was a Stormtrooper in the living room. He had a datapad in his hand, and a blaster held low. Prosin eyed Rhoen as he arrived, and the ‘trooper noticed him and spoke.

“Rhoen Aquilla,” he read from the ‘pad. “Yes?” He looked back at the entry. “I have a record that Lysa Dunter of Ralltiir also settled here with you.” Val screwed up her face at that, but the First Order man spoke on before she did. “Where is she?”

Prosin didn’t want to answer and contradict her husband.

"She's out at the moment," Rhoen said wrapping his arms around his daughter and holding her close to him. "Said she was going to pick up a pump for one of our harvesters." He said these words with confidence slowly feeling that same ice water flowing through his veins. Though usually he had shields and armor protecting him in his X-Wing. "Though she might make a detour or two picking up other things the house might need." He smiled shaking his head a little and looking at his daughter hoping that she was understanding that Daddy was lying, and that she should too, or keep quiet at least for now. "And some things we don't."

The trooper chuckled. “I’ve heard that about wives.” It was an odd thing to say, but Prosin laughed along until the man turned to look at the older man. “We may have to come back and interview her, but essentially an X-wing launched from the region early this morning. It was too low to the ground for us to track back to it’s point of origin, so we’re canvassing farms.”

He tapped the datapad. “I can’t see that my records include what happened to you and Lysa during the war, could you provide me some detail so I can update them?”

The First Order propaganda stated that the war had ended shortly after the Battle of Exegol, when Chancellor Hux cut the galaxy’s communications off and announced the restoration of the First Order. So by ‘during the war’ the man meant between the Hosnian Cataclysm and then. Syal had said her father would ensure their backstory was vague - amalgamating the story of Syal and Lysa, an anagram name, and the data manipulation skills of Talon Karrde, Face Loran and Booster Terrik.

Prosin’s expression looked tight, and Val looked at her Dad, clearly frightened. The ‘trooper didn’t seem suspicious, he was poised to type the information in as Rhoen spoke.

Rhoen arched his brow a little at the man's reply, he'd heard about them? Where the stories true then, that the FO troopers were taken from families young and trained to be soldiers? He didn't have much time to ponder that as he was asked what he did during the war. From the time his mother died to when hope died. He was busy fighting for the doomed Resistance, but he couldn't say that, not to these men.

"I was trapped in the Inner Rim during the war. So much fighting going on it wasn't safe to travel so I did odd jobs here and there. Was a planetary shuttle pilot for a bit, mechanic, store clerk, lots of things to make ends meet. I met Lysa doing one of these jobs, and when the war was over we moved back here and settled down. Stared a family." He squeezed Val's shoulders keeping a smile on his face.


“The Inner Rim was a mess, definitely after those rebels convinced Thyferra to rise up, and what with Hapes fomenting violence before we closed them down.” He shook his head. “I’m glad to hear you fled deeper into First Order space. It shows you’re truly loyal, even if you want to keep yourself to yourself. I appreciate that.”

The ‘trooper was conversational, definitely. But perhaps he was just lulling them into a false sense of security as his colleagues searched the other farm buildings. He held his hand to his ear, for a moment. “My squad-mates have found a decent sized freighter within your grounds. Might I see your licence for that, Mr Aquilla?”

Rhoen's stomach turned and tied itself up in knots hearing that he was considered Loyal to the First Order. There was a part of him that wanted to correct him, tell the trooper flat out that it was only to come back home. However he knew that if he could appear loyal that the plastic men would give him some benefit of the doubt.

"Oh, that old thing..." The former pilot laughted a little looking to the floor. "Yeah I...ah...I think I've got it somewhere. We don't use it much, there's enough of a market for foodstuffs on planet so we don't need to ship interplanetary..." It wasn't that they were actually selling much of anything, what with the FO taking pretty much everything they could get, using Chandrila as it's personal bread basket. "Excuse me a moment." He started walking up to his room, slightly pushing Val to come upstairs with him.

"Val why don't you go to your room?" he asked trying to get her out of the way so she doesn't give the game away. His daughter still looked confused and worried. "It's going to be boring grown up stuff." Her brow furrowed even more. "Please Val?" She crossed her arms and soured her face as she moved to her room. Rhoen let out a breath, that was taken care of. Up in the bedroom he looked through the lockbox he kept his important documents in. There was his birth certificate, his travel documents, and his old tags from his piloting days. He ran his fingers over it feeling the indentations. It was only a moment of nostalgia before he pulled out his registration for the freighter. Looking up he saw his blaster, he was sorely tempted to bring it with him but coming down armed would certainly raise alarm.

"Found it." He said coming down holding up the license.

The Stormtrooper had come up the stairs after him, relatively quietly on the carpeted floor. He was on the landing and peered into the rooms. Val shut her door, but the man wasn’t concerned.

He absently accepted the licence, scanning it in. It was in-date, just about. “Alright than. You’ll need to renew it next week, so I’ll put a tracking report out. If it’s flown without a new licence, the freighter will be impounded and you’ll be fined.” He held out the licence. His tone was still conversational; he had all the power, there was zero need to be belligerent.

“Your cooperation is appreciated. If you could ask your wife to comm the nearest station within the next... twelve hours?” He tapped a note into the datapad. “Than we can complete the check of your property.”

He held up a hand to his ear, clearly sending a message to his colleagues. Prosin was still downstairs, conscious that following the Stormtrooper would be suspicious. Val just closed her bedroom door and sobbed into her pillow.

There was a moment, a thought of grabbing his pistol and shooting his man dead. But that was an impulsive decision. He would have no plan for dealing with the other twenty troopers that were currently stomping over his farm. For now he just had to smile nod his head. He knew he couldn't have Syal comm the nearest station in 12 days much less 12 hours. Fate was pushing him out, his license was still good for the freighter so he could still escape. But surely there was another way, some way to spoof her message to make it look like it was coming from the house? But, could he really get that put together in 12 hours? He was good behind the stick but he was no slicer, and it would be a temporary bandage at best. They weren't suspicious but, that would change very very quickly if his wife didn't check in.

There was a part of him that wished he said his wife had left him and his child, but that wouldn't have solved anything.

"It might take her a bit, she'll likely be tired from her shopping trip, but we'll see what we can do."

"Thank you, Mr Aquilla," the Stormtrooper finished by saying. He nodded to the man, and headed down the stairs to leave the farm. Prosin smiled weakly, and then the rest of the First Order deployment left, heading to the next estate over.

Val didn't leave her room, and his father deflated a little after closing the door, sagging to the floor to take a few breaths. "Now what?"

"We pack and be ready to go at a moment's notice...and we see what happens in about 12 hours." He let out a long breath feeling some anger rising in his chest. This wouldn't have happened if Syal wouldn't have left, the troopers wouldn't be sniffing around and he wouldn't have to try and explain her absence. Another breath trying to calm himself down. He shook his head. He doesn't want to do this, there would be nowhere to go, this was his only place he ever felt at peace. That place was now taken away from him.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

OOC: An epic combo with the one and only @Sinrebirth

IC: Vicrul Ren

Vicrul paid no heed to Hattaska's morsel of praise, for he did not need, want, or ask for it. The Knight of Ren turned his attention to the First Order officer, speaking of some random X-wing of no importance. Then he felt it, a great well in the Force, from none other than their master. Vicrul turned to Hattaska, the cold, lifeless eyes of his helm piercing toward him.

"We have been summoned"

Hattaska was caught between seething and adulation. They had gone too long without his guidance.

“The Master?” Orl said, sounding hopeful.

“Of course,” Lorl added. “He would not abandon us.”

A moment later an image of him swam into existence as if he was truly here. Hattaska led the others in bowing, as well as Jaedec.

Kylo Ren was masked, and the pain rolled from him in the most delicious waves. His helmed visage took in his Knights of Ren.

Vicrul swiftly bowed before their dreaded master, he gave a brief sideward glance to Hattaska, before opening his mouth to speak.

"What is thy bidding Master?"

The Knights all intoned as he did. Kylo gestured with his hand for them to rise. "The Last Jedi escaped you."

His gloved were remade into fists.

"How."

Vicrul remained silent as he rose, it was not his place to speak he knew that as leader of the Knights of Ren it was up to Hattaska to speak for them all, whether he liked it or not. The fear did strike out throughout however, out of everyone he had come to face it was only their master that Vicrul feared.

In truth they never had the opportunity to intercept her, she was gone before they even got here, a failing perhaps on his part of waiting on the Stranger, but that made little to no difference, they would have left at the same time regardless as they left him no extra time. Although one could make the point that it was Hattaska's obsession with finding another Knight of Ren that had led to the Last Jedi's evading them, but Vicrul did not say this, the time was not right. They had failed it was as simple as that.

Hattaska bowed again. “I have no excuse. We simply did not disentangle ourselves from Akiva swiftly enough. We encountered Force users -“

"Only the scavenger matters." His retort was sharp.

“Of course, my Lord,” intoned Hattaska.

Kylo Ren paused for a moment. "Leave us. Vicrul; stay."

Hattaska stiffened, and Jaedec looked at him, even as the twins glanced at each other. The four Knights withdrew to the Night Buzzard, Hattaska resisting the urge to turn back.

The Supreme Leader and Dark Lord of the Sith watched them go, waited out Vicrul in silence.

Kylo Ren had caught Vicrul by surprise, what did the master want with him. He waited for the others to leave before gazing up to his master.

"Master?"

He intoned questioningly, his thoughts running wild with the possibilities.

"You reached out to me on Mustafar; sensed my pain."

His voice was firm and demonic as ever; his words as cruel and rhetorical as always.

"I discovered a secret of the Sith, one which makes me far more powerful than Darth Vader ever was or could have been - one left by Darth Sidious."

He held the silence, pregnant with anticipation.

"As I journey from Coruscant towards my destiny, you will remain my Voice; Hattaska, my Wrath; Jaedec, my Hand, the Twins my Eyes. Do I make myself clear?”

He had never named their roles so, but he did so to elucidate on what he expected from Vicrul; to check him. To name his truth, whereas he had never done so before.

Vicrul listened intently to his master words, his attention focused sharply on every syllable. If what Kylo said was true, and of course it was Vicrul did not doubt his master for a second, then there would be no stopping them, they would be invincible. The joy swelled within Vicrul, although he did not openly show it, doubtless his master could read every thought and feeling dwelling with the Knight of Ren.

"It shall be as you command Master"

Kylo Ren regarded them. "Come to Coruscant. It is only a matter of time before Hux locates the Resistance base, and with it, the scavenger. Bring her to me, kill her if you have to."

He raised a gloved hand, finger raised.

"But only if."

At that, he vanished, suggesting he had never been there at all. The Force released a breath as if it had been held by the throat by Kylo Ren’s unholy use of it, and sound and colour, briefly absent, returned to the Kuat moon.

Vicrul remained motionless, his scattered thoughts forming into one.

"But only if?"

Questioned the Knight of Ren, his master vanishing from his sight. He lowered his head in contemplation, the nagging darkness rising up within him, swirling around eating away at him with its hunger.

"If I find you killed her with no just cause."

The words hovered at the edge of his perception, and a ghost of a handheld his throat for the barest instant.

"You will die."

Vicrul grasped at his throat for a moment, upon his release, he bowed his head in reverence.

"I understand Master"

At that, he was gone.

Hattaska, standing at the top of the ramp, stared stonily through his mask, silently seeking instructions and loathing it.

The anger radiated off Hattaska, it was clear as day. Vicrul eyed him, not caring for the loathing that was directed his way.

"We are to go to Coruscant, wait until the Resistance base is uncovered and then the Last Jedi will be within our grasp"

He turned to view the remaining Knights of Ren, his deep voice booming, an echo of his master.

"Do not kill her unless you have to, the master will be most displeased if she is dead for no good reason"

And with that he clambered into his seat, speaking far more than he would like, his mind went blank, waiting in standby until they would make it to Coruscant.

TAG: @Sinrebirth Implications for @QueenSabe7

 

IC: Tirran Huxley
~A Leaf on the Wind~

The port explosion had propelled Tirran off the edge as he wanted, incinerating the ship and catching 'Jedi' freighter mid-start-up. The detonation sent her ship off the edge, screaming warnings and tumbling into the dark heart of Coruscant. "Have a nice fall!" Tirran mockingly joked in the contents of his tank, "Couldn't happen to nicer attempted murderer."

It was too bad about the possible destruction of valuable artifacts and a weird ship. Still he tagged her vessel and image stills as best he could in his free floating situation and transmitted it to Hux. Might as well try to get on the man's good side.

Speak of the Emperor's Black Bones, and there he be! A sleek looking black-hover-limo holding at the edge of the disaster. It had been sent to collect him, and signaled along the private channel that Hux had shared with him... and he also had a message from Dade, warning him to stay away, because it was too late. He even sent coordinates of their hidey-hole.

Sweet, idiotic, ugly little human child. He sent the kid a brief message that it was too late - but he was alright. Would be alright. Next was a brief message to his wandering suit to make it was at the storage room, sealed inside. Lastly he moved to the limo, transmitting the proper codes on a tight band to come in through the sunroof. These things always had a sunroof.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

(OOC: A combo post between @Sinrebirth and myself.)
Rhoen Aquilla
Aquilla Farm

"Dad..." Rhoen said his jaw quivering a little. "You, you don't have to." He'd just gotten back from packing things away on the ship and helping Val put her things away. Nine years old and she still has a stuffed Squall, Mr. Hopps, and she wasn't going to leave him behind. Though those thoughts were far away from him at this moment. "You can't stay here, they're going to come back they're going to ask questions..." He spared a glance to Val, not sure what to say. "You know what will happen." The younger Aquilla's voice broke with emotion. What would happen would be an arrest and likely torture trying to find out where he and Val left to. "I can't just leave you here to face, face that."

Prosin shrugged. "I can give you more time. If we all go, they'll just alert the whole First Order. Even if I only give you time to escape the Core, I'll have done something."

"Otherwise, what's the plan? I'm getting on, Rhoen. My health will be an issue sooner rather than not. Then what?" He was being honest, with eyes that soft. "You don't have infinite resources, after all. I'd rather help, than be an hindrance."

He smiled at Val. "Who knows? They might not bother an old man, and you'll have somewhere to come back to when all is said and done." He drew his son into a hug, whispering. "Go after Syal, save her from this war."

He couldn't stop the tears as he held his father close. His hands dug into the loose shirt looser than it used to be on the older man. He didn't want it to be true, he didn't want to go. This was his home, his family. He was away for years and he'd just gotten used to having it back. In the war he fought so he'd have a home to come back to, but he never saw it. Now he was leaving it again.

"Dad, dad I don't want, I don't want to go."

"That's a change." His father replied, giving Rhoen a squeeze. "When you were a boy you couldn't wait to leave."

"I...I didn't know what war was, what we would lose." The former pilot buried his head into the chest of his father, the only parent he had left. "I don't want to lose it."

"You won't lose it. This land is in your blood. It is your legacy."

Legacy...that word brought back some memories, the day he left for the Navy. Prosin made one final plea for him to stay, to remain on the ground he was born.

"Why do you want to leave, you know your mother would never allow you to..."

"But don't you see dad, this is my fate, my Legacy is in the stars, with her." A bright eyed boy that knew nothing of war replied.

"Legacy, you think fighting a war is our legacy?" Prosin stomped forward bending down to pick up a hand full of dirt. "This is your legacy boy." With a hearty shove he slammed the fist of dirt into the young man's chest. "This dirt, this ground that raised you, that generations of Aquilla grew up on. The ground we till, that we sweat in is our legacy. Not the stars, not war, life, growth, dirt. That is us..."

Rhoen didn't listen that day, maybe he should have, then again, he never would have met her, met his wife and love of his life.

"I'm just going to fight again, in the stars."

"But you found your way home the first time...you can find your way back again."

"Dad...Dad I...I love you...I'm sorry I never told you, or showed you."

"You didn't have to." Another squeeze. "I love you too son..."

Rhoen closed his eyes holding onto his father likely the last time he would ever hug his dad, ever see him. He didn't want to leave, didn't want to turn away from his home. For nine years he'd had his feet planted on the ground, had a home, didn't have to worry about fighting a war or where he would lay his head tomorrow. It was nice, having that stability. Now he was leaving it behind, again. Though it was harder this time, he'd formed a connection here it was the only home his daughter knew.

It was a slow few seconds, each feeling both not enough and too much at the same time. Letting out a breath Rhoen finally letting go. His father held his shoulders both of their eyes red with emotion.

"Go," Prosin said nodding his head.

"Come on Val." Rhoen held out his hand wrapping around hers. She looked down at the ground as they walked to one of the larger out buildings. Opening it up he saw the YT-2400, Syal wouldn't let him get anything less than CEC. Lowering the boarding ramp he knelt down looking into his daughter's blue eyes. "Ok, we have to go away for a little bit." She looked down and Rhoen tried to lift her head again, but stopped when she forced her head down more. "We're going to go find mummy, and travel a bit. Show you the stars." She looked up again a weak smile on her face. "You want to see the stars?"

With a slight nod he started walking with her up the ramp. He walked with her around the disk to the pylon that led to the cockpit. Inside he guided her to the co-pilot's seat.

"Alright, you comfortable?" He asked, she nodded her head. "Ok buckle up." she strapped herself in as Rhoen ran through his pre-flight check. The engines came on with a thrum the deck lightly vibrating a little. He wrapped his hands around the control yoke and guided it out of the hangar and up into the sky.

He looked over his shoulder at the homestead, giving it a final look before accelerating into space.

"Hey, look Val, stars..." He said as they cleared the atmosphere.

"Wow..." She replied her eyes wide.

She looked in wonder for just a moment before he made the jump...to Corellia...

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

OOC: A combo with @Sinrebirth that I had a blast doing.

IC: Barriss Offee

There was a time when Barriss wouldn't have thought of swearing. That time was long gone.

"Karabast!"

The situation had gone from bad to worst. She desperately continued trying to start up her ship, even as it fell. She could hear the crystal leaning on her, taunting her. But she ignored the crystal, refusing to let it get to her. If she died, then she died. She would not give in.

Barriss closed her eyes and focused. She blocked out the crystal. She blocked out the nausea. She blocked out her fear.

Breathe.

And once she had blocked out all distractions, she reached out and trusted the Force.

The Force replied, as it always did.

It cherished it's children, as rare as they were - rarer now, after the latest Purge.

The ship started up.

But because the Force was also fickle, her ship was pointed down when it did.

It roared into the depths of Coruscant, heading towards a building -

Barriss' eyes opened and she took control of the ship, steering it away from the building that it was on a collision course with. Then she pulled up, leveling the ship so that it stopped its descent.

The former Jedi sighed in relief. "Thank the Force," she whispered to herself. Barriss knew that her ship was damaged and likely in need of repairs, but it could still fly and that was enough for now. She had other concerns first, like deciding where she should go from here. She had been exposed and she would soon be hunted, perhaps by even the Knights of Ren.

However, she was still here for a purpose. And she needed to fulfill that purpose before it was too late, while she still had time.

With a deep breath, Barriss set a course for the Jedi Temple.

The Jedi Temple was some distance away by now, and she would have to climb to a higher altitude unless she could find a way through the maze of levels. She was low down here, some thousand-plus levels, and the Jedi Temple was at the top of this world.

There was a darkness in orbit, yes, but it had only just arrived.

But then -

Who are you.

Standing aboard her ship was a man in black, his face concealed, blocking the cockpit exit.

The crystal writhed in anticipation.

There is darkness with you. It allowed me to the bridge the gap between you and me - though when you are on my world, what gap is there for me?

Barriss turned to face the man in black. She didn't think he was really here, at least not physically. A Force projection, most likely.

"This is my world too," Barriss told the figure. "I grew up here, it was my home. I won't deny that there is darkness in me. I haven't always made the right choices and not a day goes by that I don't regret them. I fell a long time ago and I have been making up for it ever since." She hesitated briefly before continuing. "M-my name is Barriss Offee. Once I was a Jedi Knight. Now I am a healer."

Once a Jedi Knight.

His voice was thoughtful, but also mocking.

You will never make up for your sins.

He stepped closer. Indeed, he had no physical presence, he was merely a Force Phantom, trading in on lost Sith techniques that the man had spent a decade studying and collating.

But even then, his darkness was a weight which leaned upon her, curdling the Force, polluting it.

The dark side will forever dominate your destiny.

The crystal exulted in her mind.

Barriss felt something. A slight fear gnawing on her from the inside. However, she did not show it on the outside and she stared down this Force Phantom.

"Perhaps," she admitted. "Whatever my destiny is, I'll face it. And I already know that I'll never make up for my sins. But that won't stop me from doing good while there is still good to be done. Who are you?"

I am Kylo Ren. The grandson of Darth Vader - of Anakin Skywalker.

His voice was loaded with disdain, with the promise of violence, with longing.

As if, somehow, he knew just who had brought her to justice decades ago.

Barriss instinctively grabbed at her mechanical arm at the mention of Vader, remembering how she had originally lost that arm. It was still a vividly painful memory, even after all these years.

"Kylo Ren..." she whispered to herself, not looking at the figure for a few moments before his gaze returned to him. "I've heard a lot about you. In fact, I even heard that you died. I knew your grandfather, both as Skywalker and as Vader. It's a shame that you chose to follow in his footsteps." She shook her head. "You could have been a good man. This path you're on, I know where it leads. I would suggest that you turn away from it, but I have a feeling that you're too far gone to listen."

You are correct.

He loomed other here, though not as much as Vader would have done.

I have no light inside me at all.

His hand snapped out and her lightsaber was clutched by him.

And now neither do you.

He vanished, taking her weapon with her.

Now all she had was Ventress’s blade.

"NO!" Barriss screamed, sinking to her knees. Her lightsaber, which had belonged to her master before her, was gone. Now one of the few things she had left of Luminara, one of the few things she had to remember her by, was gone.

Barriss felt herself overcome by loss as she processed what had just happened. That loss gave way to pain and she started to cry.

"No," she whispered weakly. "No..."

The red crystal filled that void within her, gleefully taking purchase in her mind as a black hole of grief reopened.

This is you, this is you, this is you.

The darkness of the blade was opportunistic, greedy, violent.

It wanted to push her to the depths of despair.

There was a beep; the ship had found a route to the Jedi Temple through the lower levels which would avoid the need for them to head to the surface until just before arrival. The ship was ready to go, and head there.

Let us go see your sin.

Embrace it.

Become it.

Find your true name at long last.

Barriss was silent at first. Then she stood up, walked out of the cockpit, and found the box where she would keep her lightsabers when she didn't need them. She opened the box and placed her remaining lightsaber inside.

"You won't be coming with me," she told the crystal. "No matter what you have to say. I am going in alone. And I know my true name." She paused briefly. "I am Barriss Offee. You cannot change that."

She then closed the box, returned to the cockpit, and began her approach to the Temple.

The crystal seethed, screamed, and shouted, but it's bond was not what it once was; as she left it, the voice faded, slowly but surely, until it was merely an echo at the edge of her mind.

As such Barriss's impression of the Jedi Temple was unfiltered.

The wars since the Clone Wars had left it decrepit, abandoned, overgrown with alien foliage and on the verge of ruin. Carnivorous plants occupied one part of the grounds, vying for food and consuming whatever foolish hawkbats or klor slugs which strayed into their grove. The Jedi Temple was a symbol for Coruscant's fade; run-down, damaged, abandoned.

Arguably, it was a metaphor for Barriss herself, too.

Barriss was not completely unarmed. From her ship she had brought with her a walking staff, which could easily be turned into a weapon and used to defend herself if necessary. Hopefully, it wouldn't be. But there was still the risk of danger. After all, this wasn't the same Temple that Barriss had once called home.

After leaving her ship, Barriss entered the ruins of the Jedi Temple and wandered its lonely hallways. Despite how long it had been, she still remembered the layout. It was one of the many things that her master had made her memorize.

The Force was Barriss' guide as she ventured deeper into the Temple. The farther she went in, the more memories she was able to recall. She could always imagine the Temple as it was and see herself when she was younger, either on her way to her lessons or talking with another Jedi. She could even remember walking next to Ahsoka, the Togruta smiling and Barriss feeling grateful that she was wearing a hood so that her friend wouldn't see her blushing face.

That was so long ago, more than a lifetime.

"Nobody remains," Barriss whispered to herself, glancing at her haunted surroundings. "Nobody but ghosts..."

As she spoke the words, images seemed to drift around her. It was Luminara to start, and her Padawan after Barriss; a young human girl named Madelyn. They were training together, matching poses as they went through lightsaber sequences.

Luminara stopped as she saw Barriss. She gestured for Madelyn to continue, and stepped over to Barriss, her lightsaber extinguished but to hand. “Welcome home.” It was a memory, an attempt by her old Master to be forgiving after everything that had happened.

Barriss didn't respond immediately. For a moment she just stood there, standing at the vision of her old master. Then she laughed.

"By the Force, I am old," she told the memory. "You look so young now." Barriss smiled, though it was slightly sad. "It is good to see you again, Master. I've missed you."

She knew that it wasn't really Luminara standing in front of her. But this was perhaps the closest she would get to hearing her voice again.

“Tragedy ages us, my former Padawan. The Clone Wars seemed to make us all older.” She smiled slightly, and Barriss would know how serene she would ordinarily be. She was making an effort, clearly.

“Master?” Madelyn’s voice came, small. Luminara brought her forward. “Hi, Barriss.”

Little Madelyn had visited Barriss in prison, actually, trying to speak on her behalf with even Master Windu. After the Empire, they’d lost touch, of course...

The scene shifted, and there was Ahsoka, more than a year prior. “Hi Barriss.” Luminara stood beside her now, in conversation with Anakin and Obi-Wan. They’d gone on many missions together starting at Ansion, just before the Battle of Genosis, before Ahsoka had even been Anakin’s Padawan - before he’d even been Knighted.

It wasn’t long before Barriss was going to be sent to Drongar alone, to defend the bota supplies from the Separatists. “Are you ready?” Ahsoka said, smiling as the Togruta often did.

Barriss froze up again at the sight of Ahsoka and her smile. She was also tempted to embrace Ahsoka in a hug, but she knew better and controlled herself. Instead, Barriss sighed.

"No," she told the vision, avoiding its gaze. "I was never ready. I didn't want to be a soldier. It was not what I was trained to be. Or at least, that's not what I thought I was trained to be. The Clone Wars forced me into a role I was uncomfortable with. I shouldn't have been sent to Drongar alone. I shouldn't have been Knighted so early. I should have never gone to Umbara..."

She paused and looked back up at the memory of Ahsoka, still smiling.

"I'm sorry," she said softly. "I know you're not really her, that the real Ahsoka will never get to hear these words. But I'm sorry for everything that I've done. I... cared about you. More than what was appropriate. I struggled with these feelings and many others. I shouldn't have framed you, but the feelings I had were very un-Jedi. So I thought that if I got rid of you, my feelings would go away as well. I convinced myself that it had to be done. I was wrong though, even if it is too late for me to admit that. The damage is already done and I hurt you, hurt you even though you didn't deserve it." She was silent for a few seconds before continuing. "You were more of a Jedi than I was, Ahsoka. You never stopped wanting to help people, save people. I lost sight of that. I lost sight of a lot of things..."

Ahsoka smiled at her, and took her hand. "I understand, Barriss. I do. You did your best - you always did. The war twisted what a Jedi was meant to be... I only realised that when I left." She hesitated. "I am sorry that I didn't realise in time."

The vision vanished, separated from her, whisking to become the form of the Grand Inquisitor. His head and shoulders were aflame, as if he was some kind of ghoul, returned from the dark. There are things worth than death.

His twin-blades ignited - yellow, as when he had guarded the Temple.

Barriss glared at the form of the Grand Inquisitor. She knew him too well. He had been there with her during the trial after her capture by Anakin. Her words about the Jedi had lost their way caused the Grand Inquisitor, then just a Sentinel, to doubt his own place in the Order. Though unintentionally, Barriss was partially responsible for his fall to the dark side. Which also made her responsible for the death of Luminara Unduli...

"You," Barriss hissed at the vision, her voice filled with spite. "You killed her. You killed my master, the closest thing to a mother that I had!"

But Barriss knew that while he may have killed her, she was the true reason Luminara was dead. She took a deep breath.

"You once told me that I was the reason you became what you are," Barriss told him, remembering her brief time as an Inquisitor. "Maybe there is some truth behind that, but you still chose your path. And I chose mine. I have to live with the consequences. So do you. I will never forgive you. But the woman you killed would you have told me to show compassion, even to those who don't deserve it. So I hope that you have or you will find peace. That much I'll wish." She sighed and smiled sadly. "Though at the end of the day, we'll both always be disappointments. Won't we?"

The Grand Inquisitor sniffed. "I merely showed you your true potential..." His blades turned crimson, as he stepped forward. But then he looked crestfallen. "But I have suffered for it, I assure you." The flame consumed him, and he vanished, leaving only a shadow...

... a shadow which became solid, tall, looming.

No, it was not Kylo Ren.

Metallic breathing.

It was Darth Vader.

Barriss' mechanical arm started to hurt. Which shouldn't even have been possible. But it was.

"And what do you have to say?" Barriss asked, staring down this Dark Lord of the Sith.

He reached for his mask, and it hissed, before being dropped to the floor. When it clanged, it transformed into the mask that Kylo Ren now had, but the face it revealed was a burned and weathered Anakin Skywalker.

"I became this," he said. "What could you become?"

His lightsaber ignited; it was blue.

There were so many differing impressions going here; her memories, a vision, the Force here, all intermingling to create this Darth Vader - this Anakin Skywalker.

"A healer," Barriss told the memory. "But beyond that, I don't know. All I know is what I am no longer. And I am no longer a Jedi. I am no longer an Inquisitor. I am not a Knight nor a Sister. I am just..." She gestured to herself. "Barriss."

She silently stared at the vision, waiting for a response. When she didn't get one, she continued to speak.

"I met your son once, years ago. He wanted to offer me a place in his New Jedi Order. I turned him down. And now your grandson, Kylo Ren, is trying to finish what you started. I know he has to be stopped. But few have the power to stop him anymore." She sighed. "He knows about me. Your grandson, I mean. And he is strong, like you were. I fought you twice, once as Anakin Skywalker and once as Darth Vader. Both times didn't go well. I was never a match for you. I don't think I would be a match for Kylo Ren either. A part of me still wants to try though, even if it's in vain. Somebody has to at least attempt to end your legacy."

"Healers know best how to hurt," Anakin said, drily. "You struck at the heart of the Jedi Order. You wielded the weapons of the Sith against me. What makes you think you are the one to take that stand alone?"

He stepped forward. "Didn't you have a task, a request, to fulfil?" He held his lightsaber tip up. "You reject your place in the galaxy, to... what?" He shook his head. "Chase ghosts?"

There was a flutter and he vanished, becoming a young woman.

It was herself, Barriss.

Her eyes were wet, she was crying.

"What happened to me? To us?"

Barriss once again froze when she saw the latest ghost. She fought the urge to cry as well.

"I ruined us," she said softly, managing to find words. "I ruined you. I'm sorry. I hurt you, I hurt Ahsoka, I hurt our master... I failed and disappointed everyone that we cared about. The people who mattered the most to us. You should have never had to become me."

Though if Barriss hadn't fallen, she knew that she would have most likely died during Order 66. Probably killed by her own clone troops on some Outer Rim world like Felucia. It probably would have been a quick death as well, giving Barriss no time to process what had just happened. But what would have happened to Luminara if she hadn't betrayed the Jedi Order? What about Ahsoka? Or the Grand Inquisitor?

Barriss didn't know. She would never know. The only thing she would know were the consequences of the actions she did take. And what she was.

"I miss being you," Barriss admitted to the memory. "I miss when it was just us and our master, before the Clone Wars. Though we were never as close to Luminara as we wanted. She was wary of attachments and we struggled with them. We didn't just see Luminara as our master, we saw her as our mother. And we loved as a mother, though we didn't say so. I think she loved us too, though she knew she couldn't admit it."

"I don't want to become you," the little Barriss said, sadly, angrily, softly. She drew her older self into an embrace, crying into her like a daughter would into a mother. All people were their own parents, after a fashion.

We created ourselves again and anew.

Never were we static individuals.

Fighting what had happened, that was not accepting it.

Running away from it, that wasn't either.

Love was the answer, as she had always known.

Barriss hugged her younger self back, embracing her tightly. "I wish you didn't have to," she whispered. "But I can't fight it. I can't run from it. My choices have already been made. But I promise to be better. For you. And for the people I loved, like Luminara and Ahsoka. I promise..."

There was no answer and Barriss soon realized why. Her younger self had vanished, leaving Barriss alone. After looking around to make sure there were no ghosts, Barriss continued on her way.

Eventually, she found what she was looking for. She entered a small room in the Temple. It was empty, but it felt familiar to Barriss. Because this room had been hers decades ago. The last time she was in here was when Anakin Skywalker suspected that she had framed Ahsoka.

But Barriss didn't think about that. Instead, she sat down in the room and began to meditate.

TAGS: @Sinrebirth

 

OOC: A fun combo with @Sinrebirth

IC: Agent Johnson
Location: Uscru District, Coruscant

Johnson knew he was in big trouble now.

He had let a terrorist escape and now the woman he had been sent to retrieve was dead. And he himself was now nursing a broken arm.

And the women's voices were back again. But these were not past memories. It was if they had joined the little voice in speaking to him here and now.

The scientist was right about the reconditioning but he had to show he was still compos mentis. That his memories were not going to hinder him taking missions.

The other woman, his lover's voice felt like a slap in the face. That she knew he had turned into a monster. Of course he had not seen her since his capture and didn't know where she was or whether she basically thought he was dead.

He touched his earpiece "I am currently by the destroyed Opera House where the entrance to the Don's quarters used to be. I fought the Kubaz but the explosion separated us and he escaped. I have a broken arm and will need medical attention".

Commander Sellik seethed. "Agent Johnson, your delay has quite likely cost the Vice Chancellor his daughter. I will send Brutetroopers to collect you immediately for reconditioning." She signed off, directing more mercenaries to head into the area and see to the man.

There was noise, as a ship was shifting, but otherwise what had been a market place was burning. A woman - the woman with the fan that had spoken to him before this all went wrong, stepped around a body delicately, smiling with her lips, but not her eyes. "Oh Mister Agent, might I be of some assistance to you?"

And there it was. He would be sent to have his brain tampered with again. And he would lose whatever memories he had, perhaps for good this time.

It seems we are about to lose our humanity and walk around like some First Order trained zombie. Look what we have gathered! We need to find her. We need to find our lover and get out.

And what then? The Agent voice came back. She is a traitor and needs to be dealt with. Perhaps it will stand us in good stead.

Oh really? Then we would truly be the monster the little voice came back with. Reconditioning is bad, it's time we fought back. Every time we make a mistake the same thing will happen again and again until we become useless and killed off. If we get to her, if we can find her she might help us.

Or not, the Agent voice responded but was interrupted by the Madam reappearing.

"It seems your boss has been killed, no doubt you will come forward to take his place…" he could have sneered but he did not.

"Teams are on their way to take me back for reconditioning" he did not know why he was telling her this "Perhaps you know of someone whom I can see about getting medical assistance so I can avoid reconditioning. But it would have to be someone familiar with the program".

The Madam smirked behind her fan. "I can of course get you out, indeed. Your entire body, your mind, it is a project of the First Order that many Galactic Warlords would love to examine... the secret of Hux's army - how to control sentient's and mould them into assets." She chuckled.

"The Don had many ways concealed within this District... I can of course get you to the lower levels, my dear, but what's in it for me?" Her eyes fluttered innocently.

Run! You need to run! I'll stay! GO!

The scientist's voice.

Why was that scientist's voice popping up again? Remembered that they had planned to escape but no escape plan taking place as she had disappeared before the day they had decided to do it.

Another faulty flash the little voice said this is probably going to happen as our memory recovers.

We do not need this now the Agent voice responded we need to have a clear head for the hours ahead as no doubt we will need to evade Commander Sellik and the troops.

And no galactic warlord will get us either…

"My mind and body are not for sale to the highest bidder" he growled dangerously in case the Madam had any ideas about selling him out.

"And how about I let you keep your life. Maybe perhaps you will take the Don's position as his spot is now vacant. You know the operation and no doubt you would be useful to the Chancellor. You will need to get in first of course".

The Madam chortled. "A fair deal, perhaps. I would not want to risk my life, but if I do you this favour..." She leered, a little. "I could always make your life very comfortable." The woman looked to her left as a grey-haired man in a cap and leather jacket cleared his throat, emerging around a burning market stall. "My aide believes I need to get going, before the other lieutenants take over chunks of the Don's organisation."

She held out a datapad from a fold in her dress. "There's a secret way the Don had prepared. This will lead you to it, and open the door." She then snapped her fan closed and held that out. "Keep this, as a sign of my favour. It may save your life." Her eyes lit up. "There's a comlink built into it too."

"You may leave us," the Madam said with a lazy gesture, and she turned to go, but slowly, so he could of course thank her.

Thank her….

Agent's don't do-

Come on be polite…

Johnson accepted the datapad with the comlink. Of course she would say that she could make his life very comfortable but there were probably strings attached.

But at least he could try and get a headstart on the First Order troopers who were chasing him. He was of course hampered by his broken arm but his other limbs were still functional.

"Thank you ma'am" he said simply before activating the datapad and starting to jog away from the burning Opera House.

She laughed, a churlish chuckle, as she allowed Les to guide her out of the area.

The directions led him to what appeared to be an abandoned shopfront in the Uscru District. The metal shutters recognised the datapad and lifted, revealing an entrance - and within it, all manner of lavish ornate gold and red dragon statutory - more Atrisian wealth - as well as a deactivated medical droid, and, of all things, a deactivated Super Battle Droid. In the back was a ship, keyed with all manner of passcodes to leave Coruscant.

You can't leave.

The girl's voice.

Why not? Johnson thought back at his lover's voice. It's dangerous here. I could be reconditioned. Lose everything I am. Well maybe i've lost everything already…

Unless...she was here. On Coruscant.

We'll be hunted down as a rogue Agent the Agent voice responded hunted down like you used to be in the shadows. Always looking over your shoulder. We are loyal to the First Order now. Do you think you will be welcomed back with open arms by your precious freedom fighters?

Of course he still had the Silencer. He could have it called over to where he was. And Firespray's packed a punch, he could try and escape any fighters sent his way….

He activated the medical droid "I have a broken arm and require assistance to reset it" the battle droid he would leave for now, it would serve as a distraction if the troopers arrived.

The droid looked at his arm, looked at him, and shrugged. "I am 11-4D."

He went to work on his arm. "Not that you asked," he said with some sarcasm. "I take it I have lost another Master, if you are here?" The droid wasn't looking at Johnson as he worked the arm.

A sarcastic droid the little voice said now there's a new one…

"Indeed you have"Johnson responded "But it was not me nor one of my colleagues. It was a Resistance terrorist who did so. I was given assistance by one of his Lieutenants. Once you have fixed my arm I shall be on my way".

He looked around "I take it this is your Masters private collection and escape route should he encounter trouble".

"That master, yes," he said drily. "I have had many."

"I am supposed to pass to whoever killed the Master..." His photoreceptors searched Johnson's face. "I suppose I could accept you as Interim Master until I happen upon the killer of the Don... though I won't exactly be looking for him."

A metallic chuckle.

Could be useful should we become incapacitated….

"That would suffice" Johnson replied "However the Kubaz who killed your Master may only think you are useful to scrap. I may have a use for you as you may know about the Don's secret routes which may aid me in my journey should the datapad I was given fail".

He nodded "Once you have fixed my arm we should proceed".

It settled back. "I have set the arm, encased in a bacta wrap. It will take time to fully heal." The droid tapped the Super Battle Droid. "BD here is a pretty extreme mind. He might not take kindly to the Master being dead. I'd recommend keeping him switched off."

A slight sigh. "I am of course at your service, Master. As I have been for many, many years, for many, many masters." Clearly, the droid hadn't had a memory wipe in some time, and idiosyncrasies had formed.

Imagine what this droid has seen, I mean could it have information for-

Not now.

Johnson checked his datapad "I must keep moving as I am being tracked down. I need to keep off the surface and stay underground." Hre did not say he was looking for someone, no doubt the droid would not know who he was looking for.

He flexed his arm, it still shot pain up and down his arm but he would need to use it if necessary.

He waved his arm at the droid "Come, we must hurry if we are to stay ahead of the troopers. I have no destination yet, but I just need to stay off radar. Meanwhile perhaps you could tell me who your former masters were".

“Then you’ll want to go even lower down, to avoid First Order patrols,” the droid said lightly. “Unless you intend to do something to win the favour back with the First Order, of course. As to your other question...”

“All in good time, Master. If I stop being interesting or useful, I find Masters stuff me away at the edge of some warehouse and that’s me done for another ten cycles.” He huffed in annoyance as he led the man towards the chromium yacht in the hangar. It was a Nubian design; very expensive.

We could find her and bring her in….

No.

She would be a good capture, a traitor. Interrogate her personally…

What part of no do you not understand? She's going to come with us so we can escape. The information she still has could be useful. Besides I promised her I would help get her out someday. No matter how much she protests about her position…

The Nubian yacht looked very nice. But he was not here to admire yachts.

"Then lower we shall go" he said "I doubt anything I do will stop me from being reconditioned. I have failed the program, to fail the program means reconditioning or death. And I intend to stay alive as what I contain could be useful to those who desire such things".

My former comrades.

"So we're seeking out the terrorists, are we?" 11-4D sounded perplexed. "Does that work for your plans to stay alive?"

Find me, find me, please. She saved you so you could come back to me. Why didn't you?

"Master?" The droid said patiently.

His lover's voice again. But when he found her, would she want him back? How would he treat her? Had she moved on and she was just taunting him to come back so she could break his heart. Or could they make up like they promised to?

Too many questions…

"I need to find a woman" he said simply "I know she works for the First Order but I don't know what position she is in the organisation. She carries as much important information as I do and she is key to me escaping the planet".

"After that then perhaps I may seek out the rebels, with conditions"

“Do you know her name,” he said impatiently. “As females make up 50% of the human species - assuming she is human - and Coruscant has one trillion civilians, a majority of which are, you guessed it, human.”

His immovable expression bored into Johnson.

Johnson had to rack his brains for this one. Sift through the wreckage that was his brain, with all the voices going around in his head. He knew he was broken, he knew it in both his heart and his head.

Could she help pick up the pieces? Or was he just too far gone?

He tried to recall his first conversations with her, before they became lovers. It was strictly business then, but he could see her but why could he not remember her name. She was mouthing his first name but he couldn't catch it…

Then it clicked.

"Ilsa" he said, "Ilsa Ferguson. I think she is on this planet somewhere but if she is in a building I will need to sneak in".

“Well we’ll need to search the citizenry records... which means you’ll need to physically access a console...” the medical droid wondered aloud.

“Or a hospital? We could try one of those?” He wobbled towards the yacht, ordering it remotely to activate. A ramp came out, exposing the innards of the ship.

What were they going to do aboard the yacht? Unless they were going to use the Don's personal terminal aboard to look for her.

"Hospitals may be too public" he said, he was an Agent he would stick out easily "Unless the Don has a personal terminal aboard that" he pointed at the yacht "I have my own ship I will be flying out, I will not be flying this one".

"You think your ship will remain your property? Was it not a First Order asset?" The droid shrugged, human-style. He hadn't gone up the ramp. "The Don did like his information, but I couldn't say if he had that kind of data. Doesn't strike me as something he would be interested in, but who knows."

"It would be better with my ship then flying a ship of a man who is technically dead" he responded "Plus this ship has minimal weaponry, mine has the firepower to take down fighters. This is more for pleasure cruises".

He thought back to Ilsa "She told me she had quite a high position in the First Order, so she was able to get away for meetings without any questions. The Don I believe liked to know what went on on Coruscant, no doubt he had information on high ranking officials that he could use for leverage or to provide information to".

He strode past the droid "And we are running out of time. If there is nothing here I need to proceed to the lower levels to gain access to other sectors where I can access a terminal".

The droid followed, and when they reached the console, tapped it active. "Well, have a look then. The highest ranking First Order officer who is female is Commander Sellik, but she's not involved with the Agency." He tapped again. "However, Vana Dorja is the current head of First Order Intelligence, and she's been deeply involved in the project with this scientist - Lucrecia Crescent."



He would definitely recognise her.

Johnson did. The woman who fell in love with him but he never loved back. The one that wanted to set him free…

Her death is on our hands, the little voice said.

He nodded "I've heard those names, all three of them. Especially the scientist" he did not elaborate further.

"We need to search people with links to the Agency, no matter how small" he hoped against hope she was not involved or knew about this in any way "Perhaps she is linked to other projects, or the Navy, or the Army or even Hux himself. All I know as I said was she said to me she was quite high up and that when we parted ways last time she said she was sorry she kept so much from me, but would not say what it was".

"So it must be something important or big".

“Well Lucrecia’s reported to be dead,” the droid said in a clinical manner. Now it’s run by Doctor Edda Gast. Another female scientist appeared, one of several in a team photo of some kind, all lined up, a good twenty of them on benches in three lines; they were posing. The droid went to zoom in on Edda - but there, in one of the lowest levels, was her.

https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0272581/mediaviewer/rm1044706816?ref_=nmmi_mi_tt_pbl_17

He could see her face clearly now.

No…

The little voice was shaking its head.

It can't be. What is she doing there? Was she part of it all along? Did she stand by and watch as I was broken into little pieces?

Calm yourself responded the Agent voice. We need to find her and get the truth out of her. Only she knows what maybe happened, why they did what they did or perhaps why she was there.

You're right the little voice responded.

Johnson meanwhile pointed at her at the picture "Her. That's Ilsa. Is there any information on her at all?"

The droid paused, and rolled back. "It's not Ilsa according to her data. She's going by Hela, at present." He tapped. "She's only recently joined Dr Gast's team." He tapped. "Dr Gast worked for the old Empire in a program to brainwash nonhumans for Warlord Zsinj. She was imprisoned for carrying a huge amount of Imperial currency into Coruscant, after receiving a pardon for her actions in-exchange for data on how to reverse her brain-patterning."

He tapped away. "The First Order released her after the Battle of Exegol, and she set up the project to erase the anomalies of the FN-2187 line, and also Company 77." He was referring to Finn, and the Stormtroopers that included Jannah, who had rebelled at the Battle of Ansett Island nearly a decade ago.

It was an absent aside; the medical droid was interested in the research being undertaken.

"So presumably she's the head of the brainwashing program for the Agents." He turned to look at Johnson, photoreceptors twisting. "What is 'Ilsa' doing joining the project... unless she did so after you... um, vanished?"

Maybe she's looking for us the little voice said I have no idea how long I have been like this. Since I was captured the days seemed to blur….

Maybe she thinks we were there or are there. Perhaps she is trying to gather information to share too. But I know more than she does. I am living proof.

Trust her though to get in using a false ID. She was always smart like that. She and I have been meeting for quite a while…

Johnson spoke to the droid "She must have done, and she must not have known I was there. She would have found me and extracted me, even if it was dangerous. So my theory is that she has been denied access to information or that she has not found anything yet. Despite her high ranking it could be classified, even from her".

"I have two options. Return to the Agency in pretense of being reconditioned and find her or find her living quarters and grab her and escape".

He would have loved to take revenge on Gast for making him like this but Ilsa was his focus now.

"Any information on Hela? Where she lives, anything that is useful?"

The droid clicked a few times. "Nope."

"I would recommend against this path, but I doubt you'll answer." He tapped away. "It would seem to be that heading to reconditioning is your only answer... to infiltrate the program and find this lady."

We are NOT getting reconditioned the little voice said as I said before we do that and we lose everything. We lose her for good. At least if we pretend we are going back in we can try and grab her…

It will be dangerous and there is a risk we may get caught on our lie, but it is worth a shot. We get her and there is a plethora of information we can get to the Resistance.

And what if she does not want to come, or doesn't love us anymore? What if it's all for nothing? What if she's not even there? Then we do what we should be doing. Following orders.

The little voice didn't have a response for that.

"It is a risk I am willing to take" he said "You can come with me. You can say that you gave me medical attention and that you are escorting me back to the building. I can comm ahead to say that I am coming in, that should not arouse suspicion as I am scheduled to come in".

The droid's reluctance was evident. "Fine, Temporary Master." He sighed, shutting down the ship. "We can simply head to the Reconditioning Centre, and then sneak around, as common Rebels."

"To think it's come to this. I used to serve greats." He lamented. "Go on then, Temporary Master. I am happy to say whatever you want me to say."

The Agent part of Johnson wanted to blow this droid into scrap.

"I suggest you cease your snarkiness. That will not be useful. And this woman is more important than you realise and not just because me and here were intimately close. This could actually harm the First Order. And I am not doing this just for myself…"

We are doing this for the galaxy the little voice said they deserve to know about these experiments.

He touched his earpiece "This is Agent Johnson, I am returning to the Agency for reconditioning. Stand down all troopers, I am coming in willingly".

Ilsa, if you are in there i'm coming for you. I won't leave you behind. I promise…

He straightened his jacket and waved for the droid to follow him out.

TAG: @Sinrebirth

 

Dol Khan
-Skyline of Coruscant

He breathes in. Exhales harshly.

His eyes refocus.

Dol Khan reaches for his flight helmet and secures it across his face.

"Initiate level-1 grade stim-pack."

A second later, his lungs are filled with oxygen and a blue-green flow of healing and adrenaline mist.

"Chart me a path through the atmosphere. Prepare for multiple hyperspace jumps."

He is alert. His monitor shows he is being tailed by six TIEs. His datapad connects to the Prime Chow and his access of the First Order com traffic displays in the small upper right corner. He isolates the TIE pilots communication channels. They are unable to communicate with the rest of the First Order.

A sharp right and the Prime Chow barrel rolls through two skycrapers. All of the TIEs easily follow through but one, who clips the side of a building and is sent spiraling down, out of commission. Dol Khan leads the TIEs again through very tight evasive maneuvers. He needs time, yet knows the longer the chase, the less likely he is to escape. The Prime Chow's navcomputer needs time to plot his exit course. He takes the Prime Chow into an aggressive dive, the TIEs follow, he breaks hard and pulls hard upwards, turning the starfighter towards the diving pursuers. He pushes the engines to 75%. The jolting forward in atmosphere brings the g-forces bearing down on Dol's body. He sustains it. The Prime Chow's targeting computer fires the forward laser cannons, destroys four of the TIEs as the starfighter narrowly misses the sole survivor as it soars past it towards the sky.

​

Dol Khan manually fires the hidden rear cannon, surprising the final TIE fighter with a devastating explosion on its aft; the hunk of First Order junk falls silently toward the surface. He is...again free. His mind is heavy, as is his heart. In these in between seconds, as the Prime Chow approaches the clouds...as the Coruscant skyline starts to disappear behind him...Dol Khan's mind begins to play with his heart; the two working in concert to remind the Resistance leader...rebel...terrorist...murderer of his deeds. Not just of today.

The fall of Jalynn Graul.

The Tarkinate leader's eyes, wide in horror and pain, as his shots penetrated and burned her chest.

The strangling of a Coruscanti Imperial loyalist and his wife during the First Coruscant Conflict.

The many First Order stormtrooper convoys bombed during their patrols of lower Coruscant.

The feeling of the inside of the Don's skull as Dol tore his eyes out.

The sacrificing of children to carry out the more important objectives.

Just a few of the atrocities he'd committed in the name of the Resistance; To be defiant in the face of tyranny and oppression. This was what it took. It was not all parades...Jedi heroes...Ewoks dancing and singing...No, there was groundwork to be laid. Intel that had to be retrieved...Targets to be destroyed...Supplies to be stolen...And yes, lives to be exterminated, witnesses to be silenced...Someone had to do the dirty work. That was why he existed. He did not care whether he would be seen as a villain or a hero...He was necessary and would only cease to be necessary when those who oppress and genocide entire peoples understood that eventually they will not be able to pay the cost that came with their desire for tyranny.

His goggles were beginning to fill with tears. He bit them back. There was more work to be done.

"New arrivals in orbit. There are open paths to access multi-lane hyperspace jumps. Would you like me to prepare to jump?"

Dol Khan doesn't respond immediately. His mind snaps back to reality. He scrambles the identification codes of the Prime Chow. Since he isolated the TIE fighters that pursued him, only those who had a visual eye on him the entire time would know what the Prime Chow looked like or its general location. He should encounter little to no resistance in leaving orbit, especially since the Prime Chow was currently flying under an assumed Imperial identification. The problem is he does not want to leave Coruscant. The situation in Coruscant would grow dire and the First Order would respond with a crushing grip. The Resistance cells left planetside would have to be incredibly careful to merely survive; thoughts of fighting back would need to be suppressed or extensively planned out. He had his doubts about their ability to fight back without him. The people he was leaving behind in hazardous conditions of his own making...But it was necessary. He needed to get to a place to sort through the Don's information and to get the news of the attack to the Resistance Command; to secure the resources they would need for complete liberation of Coruscant.

"Chart a course. Jump as soon as we clear atmosphere."

Tag: @Sinrebirth