Lords of Cinnagar

[Jessica Cloud]

Planet Empress Teta
Republic Space

The hustle of a crowd came out to greet them. Shaded bodies passing amidst a bustle of activity. Cool red stones and the crisp snapping green falling leaves. The smell of burning incense hug upon the air. Mixed with the hues and tones of finely cobbled leather and a woman's wayward silk gown. These were sights and sounds of the Market's Lower Avenues. The quiet blues, wet draping greens, and somber orange colors of Meridia. The jewel of the Numidian Coast. The City by the Sea.

Here in the quiet activity of another busy afternoon, three tall Jedi Knights were pushing past the throng. Pressing, pushing, and never pausing to shop. Passing through the playwrights and slipping past the potluck of fragrant potpourri. Here in the shady back streets of the towering glamorous city. Beset by the rising music of a autumn market and the rustling of the sacred temple's chimes. They began their journey.

"Lynn? Lynn, is she still behind us?"

"Look around Jess. I can hardly see you with all these people crowding about."

Jessica Cloud jumped up and down amidst all the weaving ducking bodies. Dodging and jumping from side to side. Trying to get a better view of the Jedi Knight who had volunteered to join them.

"Lynn? I don't see her?"

"Quickly then girl. Up here. ...Jump. Jump."

The pink skinned Petra of Zeltros jumped up onto the ledge of a great bronze statue. Jessica pushed through the throng and leaped to join her. Skipping up the cobblestone steps and vaulting atop the ridge. Here, under the shadow of a colossus, they could finally get a break from the current. And a better view.

"Look! There she is Peta! ...Cass! Cass! Over here!"

"Yoohoo. Up here girl! ...Knight Cassandra. Knight... Yes. Yes you! ...Look up here girl! Over here dear. We're by the statue!"

Clad in fashionable shearling trenches and waving their arms with a fuzzy glee, two female Jedi Knights sought to summon their new friend to their side. One was Jessica Cloud. A brunette human woman who loved the soft touch of synthfur and flex leather against her light skin. The other one was a Zelosian swordswoman of pink-hued skin and long blond hair. Leaping up and down with a grand hurrah in her blue colored coat. Both were welcome beauties of grand magical powers and prowess. Watchmen of Chanrila. With sharp and special Lightsabers clasped and hidden against their tight silver belts.

"Cass! Oh Cassandra-poo! ...Yoohoo!"

Jess gave a happy hollar and a blushing smile. Hopeful and esteemed that the three women would finally be able to link back up and pursue today's clever mission. A mission of surprising importance to the Tython Council. The timely recovery of a lost Jedi Holocron. A valuable artifact that was hidden and concealed somewhere amongst the crowds and dazzling golden shops of the Market's Lower Avenue. A rising and falling like grand rapids of people which surrounded them.

Tempting and thrusting to drown any who lost sight of their flailing Jedi companions.

___

@SunWukong

 

[Cassandra Oledes]

Cassie moved swiftly throughout the crowd. The grace that she performed ever little move with allowed the young Knight to easily transverse flood of the bustling streets of Empress Theta. Cassandra's style strongly departed of the slightly more refined fashion of Empress Theta's population; black wayfarer glasses, a gray knit cap, and a gray silk bandana hanging atop a red button-up shirt, and a black sneaker to accompany her worn out jeans. Despite her outlandish style, she masterfully managed to remain hidden amidst the crowd -- not alike a shadow.

She was summoned to this particular planet to lend a hand to a duo of Jedi Knights. Jessica Cloud and Lynn Petra were their names, and although she never had meet either of them, she had already heard these names before... there are some rumors around flying about that Jessica and Lynn were romantically involved. However, these rumors mattered little for Cassie, and she found it extremely ill-willed of people to talk about others' personal life. Live and let live after all.

Cassandra pushed throughout the crowd. Picking through a vast quantity of emotions and moods echoing through the Force, hopefully she would eventually catch onto Jessica or Lynn. Cassandra had grown extremely reclosed during her time with the Jedi, and she was no longer kin unto the direct approach of finding someone in a crowd. Shouting felt too dangerous, it felt as if a single shout would bring another loss, or even the last one. Nonetheless, Cassie eventually recognized two Jedi girls moving around the crowd. They jumped and looked around, pushing a way throughout the crowd, both of them carried lightsabers and a strong atonement to the Force. "Dangerous" she thought. "Like a beacon to the Sith." She shoved that feeling aside to a dark corner of her mind.

Empress Theta was located into Jedi territory, surrounded by countless Republic worlds and far away from any planet with any noteworthy Sith presence... but she had grown accustomed to seeing danger everywhere, and it was incomprehensible hard to kill these old habits. She found herself lost in thought, only to be dragged by abrupt shouting. The two Knights had probably noticed her, and proceeded to shout her name. There was no harm in doing that in the streets of a planet such as this, but Cassandra instincts acted first. "Do not shout my name." she whispered hastily. The message reverberated through the Force, and ended up inside the two Knight's head. They were the only ones to hear it, but it sounded like an order.

"Oh! I'm truly sorry." Cassandra whispered again, this time in a friendlier tone. "I'm really sorry. Truly! You know what they say... old habits die hard." Cassandra suddenly felt extremely shy, as if she had slipped on a wet floor, and everyone began laughing at her. She clasped her hands together, and quickly joined the two Knights. She swiftly moved through the crowd, and although her moves did not retain the same grace they had earlier, the sheer flow contained within each move could still be breathtaking to the right eyes. Her movement was like a erratic dance, each step premeditated but chaotic.

"Hi." she then said, and the shyness in her voice was clear to any who heard it.

 

[Jessica Cloud]

Cassandra seemed a different kind of shining Knight. She was small, timid, fleet, and somewhat paranoid to observe too. The last thing Jess or Petra thought of when they thought 'Knight in Shining Armor,' was Cassandra Oledes. However Petra and Jess could appreciate new subtypes of mages, witches, and Force Adepts alike. It was clear that while Oledes was no Sir Lancelot? She was probably the most skillful rogue that either woman had ever seen. Navigating a crowd like a true artist.

Indeed, Jess and Petra gave each other a look of bafflement and couldn't help but shrug when Cassandra arrived at their side. Old habits eh? Hmm. Just what 'old habits' was this poor gal talking about? Jess surely didn't know,

"Oh. Sorry then. ...Lynn and I are quiet accustomed to traveling out in the open like this. I suppose... Well. I suppose that's not really your style, is it?"

"Oh save it Jess. You don't make Knight rank in this Order by being a push over. ...Sheesh. She'll be fine."

Lynn was quick to wave the comment away. They didn't have time to worry about Cassandra's playstyle now. They had a contact to meet. Jess pursed her lips and gave a nod. Supposing Petra to be right. It was silly to worry about Knight Oledes. Knights shouldn't coddle each other, after all. Jess should simply trust that Cassandra could take whatever came their way in stride. That was fine,

"Right. Sorry. Lead on Lynn. Don't mind my fussing."

"Very good then. ...Eyes sharp everyone. The restaurant we are looking for is The Silver Chariot. Barnes said he'd meet us there."

Together the group hoped down from there statuesque perch and returned into the current. Navigating the shady crowded streets with a slow and steady pace. Eventually arriving at their first destination. A wealthy dining establishment for all the merchantman types. The Silver Chariot. A restaurant that opened out before them like a Roman Gala. Three stories high and packed to brim with customers and guests. You even had to walk carefully around the tables. As, there was very little room between the chairs and the next patron sitting behind him. It made the busy streets look almost comfortable.

"Good grief. This is insane!? Where is the hostess? ...Darn it Petra. How are we every to find Barnes in all this mess?"

"Bah. I suppose we must simply find an empty table? Or... At least somewhere to stand? Umph."

Petra folded her arms over her chest and frowned. Quickly turning back around to face Cassandra as they neared the center of the room,

"Oledes? We're going to try and fight for a table down here. Why not try and find Barnes while we jockey for position? That fat dwarf should be around here somewhere."

"Just look for the goofiest bearded fellow in the joint, Cass. You'll know him when you see him. ...Couldn't miss those bonkers eye-goggles of his for the world. Hehe."

Jess giggled to herself as Lynn continued to swim around for a waiter. It might take a minute or two for seating to become a real thing around here. Giving Cass a moment to poke her head around for their contact. Theodore Fenris Picket Barnes the Third. A short n' stout bearded fellow who's blindness was only exacerbated by the large goggles he wore for glasses. Hopefully that was enough of a description for Cass to go on. I mean, how many sappy-looking gnome-types could possibly decide to eat at a restaurant built for humans anyway?

Well. Considering today's crowd? Ugh. ...They'd probably end up wishing they hadn't of asked.

___

@Cassandra Oledes

 

[Cassandra Oledes]

Cassandra was indeed not used to crowded areas. She had spent most of her life running around from place to place, using the night as a protective shroud -- or in the deeply reclusive environment of Jedi temples. She could be diplomatic and persuasive, and her voice could fill in the entirety of a room if she wished, Cassius had taught the young girl well in the art of diplomacy. However, she often preferred the silence, and the loneliness that often came packed with it. But Lynn was also right, Cassie was no pushover.

The Silver Chariot was truly a sight to see for someone with a poor upbringing like Cassie's. The restaurants she knew were few, she barely paid for the meals she ate at these establishments, and none looked quite as pompous as this one. The place smelled like the kind of money Cassie never had in the entirety of her life. She couldn't help but feel a bit off, as if the simple shadow did not belong there, and she wondered if she had enough credits to pay for anything in a place like this. The trio suddenly came to a stop. Jessica and Lynn seemed distressed in their pursue of a table. It almost seemed funny: three Jedi Knights, some of the finest woman responsible for the defense of the people... having a hard time in such a trivial task as getting a table. "Guess there is some things that even mysterious force powers can't help you with" thought Cassandra jokingly.

After being instructed to pursue a Dwarf named Barnes, Cassie quickly nodded to the due and then vanished into the crowd just as easily as she had appeared earlier. She resumed her grateful dance as she journeyed throughout The Silver Chariot. Without her heightened senses, Cassandra could have spent hours tracking a dwarf amidst so many people, but thankfully for her, she was well acquainted with tracking -- even before she gained insight into her powers. When she stopped for a brief moment to focus, it almost seemed like the background noise of a crowded restaurant had died down, but that was merely an impression caused by the increasingly focused state the Jedi was immerging into. Then it felt as if some people had suddenly disappeared from existence, then some objects and then some of the walls that trapped the people inside The Silver Chariot.

"Hello mister Barnes" said Cassie, as she joined the goggle-glassed dwarf right into the thick of the crowd

"Gosh dang!" shouted the dwarf, as he jumped backwards. He focused his almost blind eyes into Cassie, as he placed his left-hand atop his heart. "How did you even...? I mean! I did not see you coming young miss! And I'm a totally capable individual!"

"Yeah, I'm sure you are a totally capable individual mister Barnes." Cassandra was once a big joker, but the hardiness of life had taken their tool upon this side of her, but it would occasionally surface whenever she was faced with a situation such as this. "Yup. Tooootallly capable!"

"You are only saying that because of my stature! Aren't you?" Barnes seemed truly angry for a second, but he ultimately wiggled his small arms around while saying angrily: "Oh! Never mind! Who are you, and what do you want with me?"

"Oh, well. My name is Cassandra Oledes, I'm here with Jessica and Lynn." and Cassandra then pointed towards the two Knights, who where just sitting upon a exterior table surrounded by five chairs. "They told me to look for you."

"Why didn't you say sooner? I've been waiting for ages!"

The dwarf stormed out, going as quickly as he could into the direction of the Knights. Cassandra fully knew that Barnes had only waited for a couple of minutes, but decided to keep that information to herself. The dwarf and Cassandra soon joined the table. Cassie found it curious that Barnes did not seem so hostile in the presence of the other two women, treating them rather differently than Cassandra, but she shrugged it off as something related to social status, she was already accustomed to the harsh treatment anyways. She reached for the smoking pipe that sat comfortably inside her pockets, and took it off.

"Do you guys mind if I smoke while we talk?"