Encounter on Pillio

[Kyi Wavestrider]

PILLIO
JINATA SYSTEM
OUTER RIM TERRITORIES

​

Kyi's starfighter had landed on a small cliff on the aquatic planet Pillio. Upon entry into the planet's atmosphere, the Jedi Knight immediately noted on the planet's beauty - which was a nice change of pace from all the other planets he had been on recently. He felt the Force flow on this planet, which was strange to him since the planet wasn't colonised until he realised and remembered that the strong Force presence he felt was what he was actually on the planet for.

After having some downtime between missions for both the Galactic Alliance and Jedi Order, the Knight used what little free time he had to do what he enjoyed back as a Padawan and search for new information about the Force. During some research in the Jedi Temple's library back on Jedha, he came across a text that mentioned old rumours, rumours that a Force-sensitive temple had been built inside the coral caves of Pillio.

Kyi switched out of his flight suit and into his Jedi robes and exited the cockpit of his starfighter with his new droid companion Exdee, in rest mode, attached to his back. Kyi looked toward the horizon and took in Pillio's beauty before turning his head to Exdee and asking "This view is pretty amazing huh, Exdee?" to which, his little droid friend responded with a simple enthusiastic chirp. Kyi smiled at his friend before making his way down the small cliff.

@Algarus

 

[Kalanda Tishire]

This crisis of faith that she had of late was going to have to come to an end, she couldn't let this keep tearing at her. She wasn't an acolyte anymore, she was a Crusader, indecisiveness was for the weak, and she was not weak. Not at all. The jedi had outnumbered her on Tython, and same with the Mandos the time before that. This planet had a strong connection with the force, and it was rather isolated, made it perfect for her to sit here and reflect on the last few years of her service. Victress was dead, Mid had gone into exile, and here she was trying to grasp at straws. Where was she going, what did the future hold for her? She didn't know. Thoughts of Amur and Eithni flooded into her mind, crossed with the desire to take that role that Markov had stumbled into, so much to do, so much to consider.

She let out a sigh, shaking her head, as she brought her meditations to and end. She still wore her new attire, relishing in the style her dear Eithni had shown to her, her lightsaber hanging on her hip as she rose to her feet. There was something amiss however, she could feel another presence moving towards, it wasn't equal to hers, and it certainly wasn't Sith. Jedi. She scowled, not in the mood to murder a padawan today. They couldn't have followed her, or could they of? She cast a glance towards the shuttle she had parked in the cavern to her rear, before dismissing it. No, she would investigate this herself, surely there had to be a reasonable explanation for this. She looked up behind her, seeing a young man attempting to make his way down the side of a cliff just above her. She rubbed her chin with a bit of interest, wondering how much violence this exchange would have to be resolved with.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

As the Jedi Knight made his descent to ground level and got closer to the coral caves that housed the Force-sensitive temple he was in search for, Kyi sensed something else too - something powerful, more powerful than him at least. He felt the Dark Side of the Force surrounding this presence that he felt, could it have been Sith? He thought. Kyi was in no way equipped for a potential skirmish, he didn't have his armour, Exdee was with him and there was another crucial factor - Kyi had never fought another Sith before, sure he survived an encounter with a Force assassin on Demir but they paled in comparison to an actual Sith.

The freckle-faced Knight would have to take his next steps carefully if he wanted to survive this trip. "Beep-whoo?" chirped, the little droid on his back, "You know me too well. Just...stick close to me, okay?" he commanded with a soft but nervous tone. Finally reaching ground level, he made his way across the shallow patches of coral and clear puddles that stretched across the planet, toward the coral caves a few short yards ahead of him. That's when he noticed it, a figure in the distance...just standing there menacingly. He knew that negotiating with a Sith was near-impossible but he had to try, although he'd keep his lightsaber ready just in case the Sith would try anything.

With that, the young Jedi Knight began to approach the Sith as they stood in the way of him and getting inside those coral caves.

@Algarus

 

[Kalanda Tishire]

He was going to approach her? Rather bold. She had to give him props for that. Kalanda smiled, setting her hand on her hip at the jedi would begin approaching her. It made her chuckle, so cautious, so...scared? No, maybe this was his first time seeing a Sith. She couldn't blame him, after all Reuben wasn't exactly welcoming her with open arms during their first encounter. Drawing upon the force, Kalanda would start the exchange. "Well now, this is a pleasant surprise." She started, circling around the jedi, as she positioned herself between him and the cave. "You are a jedi, no? You look it. I take it you've never seen a Sith before either?" She went a bit further, pacing back and forth before stopping, her face all smiles as she found this sight amusing. Her hand grasped the hilt of her lightsaber, before letting it go. No, she wasn't going to use that damn thing, hell she hadn't used it the last time she was in battle either.

"Master jedi, are you going to kill me now? I do hope you reconsider if you are. Might not go the way you expect." Kalanda grinned, readying to defend herself should the knight lose his nerve. "This planet is big enough for the two of us as you might have noticed, and frankly I'm not in the mood for games. So, if you are wanting to attack me, I'd suggest you do it now and get it out of the way. I'm a very busy woman after all. If not, perhaps move on to another site, and I'll forget I saw you." She kept her eyes glued to him, keeping about four meters of distance between them. What the hell was a jedi doing out this far she wondered. "What is your name? You do have one don't you? No reason we can't be civil for the time being. I'm Kalanda, and you are...." She spoke with a rather degrading down now, curious if she could make the young man lose his nerve. She hadn't fought a jedi in a fair bit, not since Sakadi on Tython. This would be a nice practice.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

This raven-haired Sith seemed familiar - she fit the description of one that fought Sakadi and Omnis on Tython a while ago but he couldn't be too sure. She looked confident and powerful which made him feel uneasy, which she could probably sense - like a predator smelling the fear of its prey. The Sith asked if he had ever seen a Sith before which Kyi elected to ignore as he circled with her, noticing she was literally standing in-between him and the cave he needed to enter. All Kyi could do was attempt to stare her down with the least amount of emotion in his face possible, it was his only intimidation tactic as he knew the Sith outclassed him in every way.

She queried if he'd kill her, calling him "Master Jedi" in the process - she was mocking Kyi, she knew the Knight was inferior to her and it was as if she was playing with her prey. She mentioned not wanting to fight him and suggested he move on somewhere else but he knew he couldn't do that, the Jedi Knight kept his left hand close to his lightsaber, he couldn't sense the Sith's true intention but he knew her entire Order was deceitful, this could all be an elaborate ruse. What happened next really confused the Jedi Knight, the raven-haired Sith went on to introduce herself? Her name was Kalanda, now he knew for sure that she was the Sith that Sakadi fought on Tython...if she could contend with Sakadi, he'd really have to be careful now.

"Kyi." he said, voice remaining as stoic as possible, "Believe me, I'd love nothing more than to avoid a fight but you're literally standing in the way of where I need to be-" his eyes travelled to his lightsaber, he unclipped it and ignited the lightsaber, to hopefully intimidate her, returning his eye line to the raven-haired woman that stood in front of him "-So, unless you don't allow me to pass, we shouldn't have any problems, Kalanda." saying her name with emphasis, the Jedi Knight began to feel more confident in himself as he spoke his peace to Kalanda. Kyi's head turned to look over his shoulder slightly as he noticed that the usually opinionated droid on his back was staying quiet throughout the entire exchange, maybe Exdee was nervous that they were in the presence of a Sith too - which he didn't the blame the little droid at all. Returning his gaze back to Kalanda, he watched her intensely for any sudden movements as he struggled to sense if she truly did not want to fight or if this was all some elaborate ruse.

@Algarus

 

[Kalanda Tishire]

He was polite, well, sort in that gritting your teeth kind of way. He seemed a bit eager to get past her, but why did he want to get towards her shuttle? Maybe he was marooned? That could make sense, explain why he was wandering around like this. "Kyi, dearie, I'm sorry but that's not going to happen. You see, my shuttle is currently in that cave, and sadly, I don't trust you to not steal it. I'm sure you understand." He was tense, nervous. What was in this cave that he needed so badly? It made her wonder. The lightsaber was already out and ignited, though she was entirely unarmed. That got on her nerves, why did they always want to rush to fight, maybe they all had fragile egos, a little poking and the lightsticks were brought out. "Little hasty aren't we? We're just talking. Words never hurt anyone, did they?" She asked keeping her distance, prepared for the jedi to try something.

She had struggled against Sakadi on Tython, but that was more based on her skill with a blade, here she would show just how good she was with the force; poor boy wouldn't fare too well there. "Very well. You have me at a disadvantage. I'll surrender myself into your custody." She relented, slowly raising her hands up, only to the grip the droid on the boys back and yank it down hard, sending both the jedi and the droid into the muddy sands. "Ops, I lied." She snickered, as she would take no more actions against the man, unless he wished to move towards her and fight. "Now please, put away the glowstick. That was very unjedi of you to do." She threw her arms open, still preparing to must an attack if needed with the force. "Do I look like a threat to you?" She asked genuinely, wondering what the man would do next.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

He knew it wouldn't be that easy - Kalanda refused to let him past, mentioning a shuttle she owned being inside of the cave behind her. Kyi couldn't really tell her that he was there for a Force-sensitive temple, in case she'd kill him, find the temple and take the knowledge back to her Order. The Jedi Knight tightened his grip on his lightsaber, knowing this may very well end in a fight - but he noticed she was unarmed, this might be an easy victory for him unless she was really adept with the Force. There was no way for him to actually know unless he engaged her.

Kyi eased up a little, lowering his guard as Kalanda agreed to surrender but he still kept his lightsaber ignited just in case. Suddenly, in a flash and before Kyi could even use his own Jedi reflexes to react, he felt Kalanda swiftly place her hand on Exdee and forcefully slammed him into the muddy sand underneath them, Exdee let out a frightened chirp as they both fell onto the floor below. For the brief moment he was down, he would have to make a decision: call off this excavation and leave, or fight his way into the cave and potentially risk death to both him and Exdee. He knew she was feigning innocence as she mentioned not being a threat, she was a Sith and he was a Jedi, of course she was a threat to him! He didn't want to do this but...he needed to get into that temple.

The freckle-faced Jedi Knight quickly pulled his face from the ground and locked his eyes onto Kalanda who stood over him menacingly. Kyi mustered as much as the Force as he could, concentrating hard, before holding his arm out in the direction of Kalanda and using the Force to push her away from him - unsure if it would send her flying or she would absorb it with a Force power, it was enough to bring some distance between them. Kyi quickly shot up from the ground, lightsaber still in hand "I don't want to fight! But I have to get into those caves." he said with utmost determination, he wasn't leaving this planet empty handed, without potential knowledge that could help the Jedi Order to better understand the Force. He couldn't.

@Algarus

 

[Kalanda Tishire]

Kalanda extended her hand, as she could feel the padawan throw back power at her. It had some punch to it, as she had to actually try and resist it. She succeeded in halting it, though the blast still rippled her clothes and blew her hair back, messing up any sort of order she might have maintained over her appearance today. Her stare hardened, seeing that the young man wasn't going to take this lying down. She cracked a small smile, least this one had a spine, unlike Reuben. She relaxed her posture, seeing that he was genuinely wanting to get into the cave for whatever reason. He still had that lightsaber on though, which she wasn't fond of. "Seems we are at an impasse." Kalanda stated, her hand moving towards the lightsaber on her hip, as she wasn't sure how to go about this.

She genuinely wasn't in the mood to fight, but at the same time this knight was testing her patience. She'd scare him off, leave, and then they'd both get what they want. It sounded good to her frankly. "How about this, tell me what's in that cave, and I'll consider moving my shuttle." Kalanda's saber snapped into her open hand, as the crimson blade came to life. The smile she had worn slipped into a scowl, feeling the piece of metal in her hands. Oh, how she came to hate this tool of hers, but she couldn't be free of it. "I'm rather reasonable you'll find." As the two force users exchanged words, a small fleet of vessels were in the process of burning through the atmosphere, and unknown to the two, they were about to have company.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Kyi watched as Kalanda ignited her crimson blade... he had never seen a Sith lightsaber up close before, his awareness increased as he watched her even more closely now. She was making it really difficult for Kyi to avoid a fight, giving him all of these impossible ultimatums but then again, he was an idiot for escalating the situation by activating his lightsaber in the first place, stupid enough to think that the intimidation display would have caused the raven-haired Sith to have backed down. The Jedi Knight couldn't risk telling her about this cave and the temple that resided inside - "I...can't." he muttered as he readied his lightsaber, switching into an Ataru stance, he wasn't going to tell her what was in the cave, so he'd have to fight her. Kyi tensed his feet as he was prepared to swiftly close the gap between them and engage her in combat.

Suddenly, the Jedi Knight felt a huge pit form in his stomach which made him back away slightly and loosen his attack stance. Kyi looked to his right and toward the ocean's horizon near them, he sensed something wrong, a disturbance. The freckle-faced Jedi swiftly returned his gaze back to Kalanda - "D-do you sense that?" he asked, unsure of what was happening. Kyi was more focused on what the Force was telling him now, he switched off his lightsaber, the blade quickly returned to its hilt as quickly as it did when it came out, and he fully turned his body toward the ocean, to the horizon and searched for the danger that his senses were warning him about, completely ignoring the Sith who was stood near him.

@Algarus

 

[Kalanda Tishire]

How odd was this, neither wanted to start a fight, but neither wanted to give the other an opening. How strange this was. Kalanda's face showed a hint of remorse for she was about to do. How unbecoming of her. She took up a Juyo stance, looking to the jedi knight, wanting him to make his move. Maybe they had both played this situation wrong, perhaps they were both fools for attempting this, but there really was no other way around it. Kalanda dug her feet in, feeling confident that she could take this lowly jedi knight, it certainly wouldn't be too difficult. But something felt amiss. This wasn't the danger she was sensing, no it was coming from elsewhere. Kalanda's guard relaxed, as her eyes scanned the area for what was causing this sensation to strike at her. Her hair was standing on ends, and she had a feeling like her stomach had just dropped.

Clearly the knight felt it too, as the two loosened their posture, seemingly more confused about what they were feeling. "Yes, I do, but..." Kalanda muttered, answering the knight's question, as she looked to the skys once more. Her saber shut off as well, as it seemed they had something else to concern themselves with. Kalanda reached out, tapping into the force to increase her sight and senses, as the low droning of engines was now being heard, several engines. Her first thought was the jedi had assistance coming, but if he was feeling the threat too, that couldn't be it. She focused on the sound a bit longer, hearing that these engines sounded strained, worn down, not at the state a fighting force like the Galactic Alliance would keep them in. It was getting closer, louder, then it clicked with her. Kalanda began to withdraw, as she could sense the they were about to be visited by slavers. "Get to cover, now!" She wasn't sure why she warned the jedi, she kicked herself for having said anything. Kalanda covered the distance quickly, making for the cave she had stowed her transport in. If Kyi didn't do as the woman would say, the jedi knight would soon see several large transport ships descending from the sky. Clearly they were not alone.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

Kyi snapped out of his concentrated state as he stared at the ocean ahead - "Get to cover, now!" caused the Jedi to shake his head as he turned to look at the raven-haired Sith who had already took off running to the cave before returning to the ocean ahead, there he spotted several ships headed their way. The Jedi followed-suit soon after and began sprinting toward the coral cave as he watched Kalanda enter the cave a few moments before him with Kyi entering shortly after her, entering the cave he saw the Sith's shuttle - what are the odds that she had happened to land her shuttle inside the very place he needed to be. The Force really did work in mysterious ways, whether this was a good or a bad thing was always up for debate in the freckle-faced Jedi's mind.

Now inside the cave and taking in his surroundings, he noticed many rock formations coupled with coral growing from said-formations and open ceilings which allowed the natural light to creep in and illuminate the cave. He turned to look at the Sith who had stood before him, noticing she hadn't used this distraction as an opportunity to kill him and, strangely enough, had actually warned him of the incoming danger. Kyi raised a pondering eyebrow at her, crossing his arms, "You warned me? Why?" he asked, followed by a "Whoop!" from Exdee - maybe he was too quick to judge the raven-haired Sith who could naturally kill him without breaking a sweat "Either way, thanks." his arms unfolded as his posture loosened, feeling less suspicious of Kalanda.

Kyi then looked further down the cave, closing his eyes as he felt the Force around him, feeling it become stronger now that they were in the cave. Was this Force-sensitive temple another Force nexus? And could he really trust Kalanda to let her know what he was doing here on Pillio... she did try and help him after all.

@Algarus

 

[Kalanda Tishire]

She was regretting helping the jedi knight out, as they reached the safety of the cave, only for the young man to follow behind her. Already he was asking dangerous questions, testing her patience. Idiot, if their attackers noticed him, then the chances of them finding her would only increase. There was another reason as well, but there was no way in hell she would be sharing that with him. "Just keep your mouth shut. If they saw you, they would only think to search for me as well." She hissed, thinking if it would have been better to just let the young man die out there. She wouldn't have allowed that though. Kalanda indeed had felt an unusual pull with the force within this place, hence why she decided to land her ship here. It seemed the knight had taken note as well, as he seemed to be distracted by what was happening in the cave, and not paying attention to what unfolded outside. The several ships drew closer, closer, until they were passing up ahead, the loud noise of their engines created an almost deafening volley of sounds, as sand and wind was kicked up and thrown towards the pair; it looked like a small sandstorm unfolded outside.

Kalanda hunkered down, digging into her force senses, as she could ignore the small swirling of sand and sense what was unfolding outside of the cave. One of the ships had settled down, it's back landing ramp deployed as a dozen or so men of various species would come strolling out. She wasn't sure what this was about, as the language they spoke wasn't one she knew, but it seemed to her that this situation was about to get worse. She could handle a dozen of these pirates, but given that there were several other ships still in play, she didn't know how many would actually be waiting to face her down.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

With an annoyed sigh, the Jedi came to the conclusion it was in their best interest if they made their way to the temple and get away from... whoever the hell was on Pillio. With an annoyed expression, Kyi turned to the Sith who seemed to be focusing on something right now "Alright." he said with a raised tone of voice to capture her attention "I'm on Pillio in search of a Force-sensitive temple. It could house artefacts or new knowledge that could help the Jedi." he rolled his eyes, hating that he had to divulge the truth to Kalanda "If we go that way, we might be able to find it." he said pointing in the direction behind them which led deeper into the cave. Kyi began walking in the direction of where he would think the Temple was, not bothering to check and see if Kalanda was following him.

"Deet deet boop." Exdee asked, he wanted to enter "walk mode" and roam the coral cave with Kyi and Kalanda in hopes of scanning and collecting samples "Sure, buddy." he responded. Letting out a thankful beep, Exdee jumped off of Kyi's back and began walking a few feet ahead. Kyi thought to himself, realising that these pirates or slavers or whatever they were - would probably discover Kalanda's shuttle in the cave but at least they'd have some kind of head start and maybe these hostiles wouldn't even find the temple. Kyi used his connection to the Force to try and direct him to the temple, he wasn't sure if this would work but it was the only option they had at the moment.

@Algarus

 

[Kalanda Tishire]

Seeing that their way out wasn't going to lead to much, Kalanda sighed and looked back to the jedi as...he seemed to be more interested in the cave. At least he wasn't going to try and kill her. She didn't care about the temple, if that's seriously what he was trying to hide from her, she clearly had missed the side of him that was a total idiot. "So, you came all this way to dig through some ruins and find something that may or may not even exist?" Kalanda asked, crossing her arms as she leaned against the cave, ignoring the group of men that were milling about outside.

She didn't care about the jedi, so what if he got some old rock carving, why would she care? "So, you almost died just to come digging around in here? I fail to see why you didn't wish to tell me about this place." Kalanda muttered, pitching the bridge of her nose as she would follow behind the younger knight; she might as well keep an eye on him. "I'll follow you, but don't think I'm taking a liking to you. I don't do the 'friend' thing. I tolerate you, understand?" She stated, though Kyi would sense no hint of deceit coming from the woman. Kalanda would follow the knight, not expending on her senses though, if Kyi wanted to find this thing he would have to do it alone. Still, there was something off about this place, as if they were standing on thin ice, the ground beneath them felt like it wasn't quite there. It was odd. Could the temple be beneath them perhaps? Kalanda had no way of telling, nor did she exactly care, she was just along for the ride given she couldn't leave now.

@AfroBandit20

 

[Kyi Wavestrider]

She began following him eventually, he glanced back to look at her as she spoke - in classic Sith behaviour, she used her ability to speak to criticise and insult him and the choices he had made leading up to right now. Criticising that he made the effort to try and hide his reasoning for being there from her, well, better to be safe than sorry he thought - he didn't know how the Sith worked to the tee, so he wasn't sure if they chased knowledge like he did.

"-I don't do the 'friend' thing. I tolerate you, understand?" Kalanda stated, which resulted in a simple eye roll from the Jedi and he waved his arm, shrugging her statement off "Alright. Whatever." he said nonchalantly, he really didn't care about what she had to say - at this moment in time, they were unwilling allies and the only chance each of them had at escaping this alive. As the Jedi, droid and Sith trailed further into the caves, his gaze rotated around the cavern as he noticed the walls and ground seemed... hollow? And he suspected the the raven-haired Sith noticed as well.

"Wait." he said sternly and abruptly halting his steps "Hear that?" he asked, and right on queue - the caves' walls began to break apart as beetle-like creatures emerged from the hollow walls, about ten of them flew out and hovered in front of the Jedi and Sith, ready to attack. This was their home and the two were intruding - he didn't blame them for defending their territory but he had to defend himself as well, Exdee quickly returned to Kyi's back to avoid being attacked by the beetle-like creatures. Igniting his blue lightsaber, Kyi was ready to fight.

@Algarus