Ask A Different Perspective - Kesh

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan looked out over the armed men, trying to determine who the leader was. If there wasn't one, the Togruta was prepared to pick one of the men to address, but that wouldn't be necessary.

"I SAID ON THE GROUND!" Yep, there he was; a tall human with a close-cropped haircut and a blaster rifle. Ruzaan sized him up- he was well over 6 feet tall and muscular, which is why the padawan was surprised when the man suddenly dropped his rifle on the ground. The gun clattered noisily to the floor and Ruzaan decided to use the opening to speak up. He'd decided on the 'I am a Jedi and my very powerful master will be here any second so you'd better behave' plan, which he would feel more confident in if he actually had a master to back him up.

"You're making a mistake" Ruzaan said to the gunman, mentally urging Malou to take the family and make a run for it. "I am- yaaaaaaaagh!" His words disappeared in an scream as he was suddenly yanked off his feet and sent flying across the room. Surprised as he was, Ruzaan was barely able to control his landing and he rolled awkwardly behind a half-wall as a couple blaster bolts slammed into the ground where he'd been just a moment before. A few shrieks and whimpers from the civilians died out as quickly as the blaster fire.

Ruzaan was surprised- again- when Malou joined him just a second later, ducking behind the same small wall. "Do you have a gun?" she asked. She didn't seem very happy about the situation, and he couldn't blame her- who wanted to be caught up in a hostage situation?

"Not exactly" Ruzaan replied, grateful that his lightsaber hadn't come unclipped during his unplanned flight; he could still feel its comforting weight underneath his outer robes. "Why aren't you running?" As soon as he asked the question, he felt stupid. First of all, Malou could handle herself. Second, someone had just used the Force to throw him behind this wall, and moments later Malou had shown up. Almost like she knew this was going to happen... She'd already exhibited a heightened awareness of her surroundings, more than enough to make up for being blindfolded. Can the Force do that? Ruzaan wondered. It certainly made sense.

"Nevermind" he said on the heels of his question. Instead, he pulled out his double-bladed lightsaber; no sense in hiding it anymore, when he was in a life-or-death situation. The four of the gunmen were beginning to advance on the half-wall. He glanced at Malou, deciding to put some trust in his theory that there was more to the Miralukan girl than what met the eye. "Do you have a plan?"

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[Malou D'Amaris]

' "Not exactly"? What does he have, a death wish?" Malou was entirely confused about what his plan had been. There was a piece here she was missing, but as she pressed her back against the half wall which separated them from the armed men, she could not decipher what it was. She had a feeling she would find out sooner or later.

"I wasn't going to watch you kill yourself for five seconds of distraction." She answered despite Ruzaan backtracking with a "never mind." Her hand slipped around the corner, balled into a fist, and yanked one of the guns over to them. The man which lost his weapon to Malou's Force snatch let out an angry shout. As Ruzaan asked if she had a plan, Malou would pass the gun over to him.

"Now you have a gun," she would state plainly. "I'm going to try something. When I move, move to shoot."

Malou would then shift so she was facing parallel to the wall, crouched, and ready to shoot up at any moment. She would remain in that position for a few seconds before she shoot up, swiveled, and turns to face them with her hands close to her chest. Ruzaan would feel the air warm up just before Malou thrust her hands away from her chest as fire sprayed out from her palms. The men in front were hit with a wall of fire. She would only be able to maintain it for a few seconds before she fell back behind the wall. She hoped Ruzaan would utilize those few seconds to spray at those not actively being burned by the fire.

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

"Ok, I wasn't about to get myself killed" Ruzaan protested, but just as quickly Malou tuned him out and used the Force(!) to yank a blaster back behind their wall. His dismay at being handed such an uncivilized weapon was overshadowed by the grin that broke out on his face. "You can use-!" Malou popped up from cover and flames burst from her hand, engulfing several of the attackers. Ruzaan felt like he had been punched in the gut; he'd seen that Force power used before, but not by a Jedi. "...the Force" he finished sadly.

Still, Malou's burst of fire had drawn lots of attention, and Ruzaan knew that he had to take advantage of it. The blaster was most certainly set to lethal mode, so Ruzaan took a guess and flipped a lever to set it to stun before pulling the trigger. Click... click... clickclickclickclick. Apparently, he'd set it to safety instead. Great. The gun clattered on the floor as Ruzaan ditched it for a more reliable option; his lightsaber. Twin azure blades hissed into existence as he ignited his lightsaber and launched himself forward, cutting through the barrels of two blaster rifles and following it up with a quick Force push that knocked the assailants off their feet.

Their offensive had helped even the odds in their favor... slightly. Ruzaan had taken out two; Malou had disarmed another and burned three more, leaving eight soldiers left, including their leader, who now held two blaster pistols. There were also civilians to worry about, too; he had to try to end this peacefully, for their sake. "Surrender!" he called out to the leader.

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[Malou D'Amaris]

"Are you surprised?!" Malou's response to Ruzaan's realization came out a bit confounded, as the acolyte had assumed the Togruta would've put two and two together. She was blind folded, and yet was able to move around, read, and even describe the world around her. 'Maybe he doesn't get out much,' was her initial thought, but when the lightsabers came out... well, it was Malou's turn to be surprised.

'Jedi.' It made more sense than not, and it certainly cleared up some questions she had. He was from Shili, but was all the way out here on Kesh for a "school trip." 'That probably means this is some Jedi excursion, huh?' While Ruzaan had the assailants attention, Malou, though she had her sabers on her person, instead pulled the gun she'd given the Togruta to her hand, turned off the safety, and fired a series of stun bullets at the remaining men while Ruzaan called for them to surrender. Now that she knew he was a Jedi, Malou had no intention of revealing herself as Sith. She could only imagine it would lead to more conflict; 'You know how Jedi are,' she reminded herself. Artorgias had told her many things about them. They saw only in black and white. Metaphorically, at least.

"I don't think so-AH!" The man in front was hit with two stun bullets and sent convulsing to the ground. Malou joined Ruzaan's side moments later, holding the gun pointed at the remaining four that had not been hit by her spray of bullets. Perhaps now that they were missing three-fourths of their team, the remaining guys dropped their guns and held up their hands. Quietly, Malou sighed in relief.

"You're Jedi," she said about a second later. "and you've never met a Miralukan?"

By then security had arrived, and after looking between the twelve stunned or surrendering men and the two teenagers (one of which was wielding two blue lightsabers), they were able to quickly deduce the offending party. Many of the guards went to secure the men, while one veered off into their direction to address her and Ruzaan.

"Jedi," he began with a short bow of his head. "we cannot thank you enough."

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

"Are you surprised?" Malou asked, seemingly bewildered that he didn't know any Miralukans in the Jedi Order.

"Yes!" Ruzaan called back, his attention mostly on the men that he'd ordered to surrender. Malou fired a slew of stun bolts that quickly convinced the remaining assailants to put down their weapons. Security arrived to subdue the would-be thieves as Malou continued to question him. "Yeah, I don't think I've met a Miralukan before" he replied to her next query, stumbling a little over the pronunciation of her species. "First time for everything, I guess!"

With the brief battle over, his double-bladed lightsaber was quickly put away and concealed beneath his robe. Shortly thereafter, a member of the security team walked over and addressed him and Malou. "Jedi, we cannot thank you enough." Ruzaan glanced at Malou out of the corner of his eye, but her face, as always, was unreadable. Don't play this girl in Sabacc.

"You're welcome" he replied. Indeed, it was lucky that he and Malou had been present today, all the way out here on Kesh. Talk about right place, right time... "The Jedi serve all peoples of the galaxy. Is there anything else you need at this time?"

The sergeant shook his head. "Nope. No casualties among the civilians, although one of the suspects is in pretty tough shape. Serves him right for taking you two on, eh?"

Ruzaan's eyebrows narrowed; now that the battle was over, he held no grudge against the attackers. "Take me to him, I'll see what I can do" he said. As the sergeant led them over towards where one of the EMT's was administering first aid, Ruzaan couldn't help but glance in Malou's direction again. She didn't seem keen to claim the title of Jedi, nor did he remember hearing of her from his fellow Padawans. Her skill in the Force was unquestionable, however, as Ruzaan studied the wounds the primary victim of her Pyrokinesis. Some of the man's armor was melted, his long hair was burned away, and his face was hardly recognizable. He'd only seen that Force power used once before; on Felucia, by a Sith.

Ruzaan knelt down next to the man, and took a deep breath while extending his hand over the man's rapidly-blistering face. His previous attempt at Force Healing had been a mental battle; thankfully, physical wounds were easier to work with. He couldn't undo the damage, but Ruzaan could take some of the man's pain away and prevent the worst of the scarring. "Malou" he asked calmly, eyes closed as he concentrated on his Force Healing. "Where did you learn to do this?"

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[Malou D'Amaris]

Malou did not respond to the man who addressed them and simply kept a neutral expression on her blindfolded face. Internally, she was amused at being called a Jedi. As Ruzaan had, unknown to herself, keenly observed, Malou was not keen to claim the title of Jedi, but she was not offended by it. Truth be told, Malou really held nothing serious against them. Though they were the ancient enemies of the Sith, she had never been given a reason to trouble herself with anything other than mild dislike of them. They were not the ones standing in her way; that obstacle belonged solely to the Sith lords.

"I was taught by my teacher," Malou replied honestly. Her master had been the one to teach her such a thing. Who her master was however, would not be given to the Jedi. "Nearly all Miraluka are able to use the Force, and we don't just sit around and use it to see. Many of us, like my teacher had, have taken it upon themselves to tutor and teach others how to use the Force in other ways." As Malou said this, she watched as Ruzaan kneeled over the wounded man and hovered a hand over his face. The acolyte had never seen a man be healed in such a way. Of course she had heard of it, but it was not something the Sith were able to do.

She had no use to ask Ruzaan the same question. His twin lightsabers, activated to their blue hue, answered her questions. Briefly Malou wondered what path her life would've taken if she had been taken in by the Jedi rather than the Sith. It was unlikely that she had the compassion to be a Jedi. More than anything, she was concerned wholly with herself more than others.

"...so, class project, huh?" Malou was curious to hear if that was a truth or a lie now that new information had been revealed.

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

"That's cool" Ruzaan replied, half listening as he healed the man. In hindsight he should've asked that question when he was better able to pay attention to Malou. "Sorry" he apologized to Malou as he finished healing the man; he hadn't heard much of her response due to his focus on Force Healing. A Knight or a Master would've done better, but the man's face now resembled that of a human again and his pain appeared to have significantly lessened.

Thankfully, he hadn't missed Malou's follow-up question. "Class project? Yes" he replied truthfully. "A little unorthodox, though- the assignment is supposed to be about a different culture and it took some convincing for my teacher to let me research the Sith. Studying the Sith isn't exactly encouraged, but it's not forbidden like it used to be. I just... don't understand them."

Having finished his healing, he glanced back up at Malou. She'd certainly surprised him, and her obvious talents with the Force only made him more curious. Perhaps he could recommend Malou to the council if she sounded interested. "So I'm guessing the Force pull was you as well? What else can you do?"

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[Malou D'Amaris]

'I don't even understand them sometimes,' Malou thought in response to Ruzaan's comment about the Sith. There were some things she understood, but most things she did not. She knew many Sith--including herself--desired power, but she did not understand the appeal of conquering worlds and obtaining more and more responsibility to do so. She understood that peace was a lie, but she didn't understand why many were eager to kill.

"It was," she said in response to Ruzaan's first question. "I can push, too," she then added with a bit of humor. Other than pyrokinesis and telekinesis, there wasn't actually a whole lot that the acolyte knew. She had used the Force to enhance her stamina, speed and strength before, but not often enough to call herself comfortable with it. Even her telekinesis could use some touch ups. Malou had always been able to move small things in the Force--when she was disallowed from using it, she practiced it anyways--but large objects caused her trouble.

"What about you? You're a trained Jedi; I bet there's lots you can do."

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan cracked a grin, first at her quip and then at her "trained Jedi" remark. He'd only been training for about two years with the Order, and while he was making good progress there was still much that he did not know. In response, he shrugged. "I'm still a padawan, or apprentice, and will be for a while. I can move objects around so long as they're not too heavy or too far away, and I've been studying Force Healing. Other than that, there's not too much I can consistently do." He wasn't about to tell her about his talents in Sound Mimicry, since that would inevitably lead to him having to share an embarrassing story about himself; a step he wasn't ready to take just yet with Malou.

Instead, he kept the topic on the Force and the desire to learn more; both things that had apparently brought them together today. "Once your research project is done, what's next for you? If you're interested in continuing your studies into the Force and maybe becoming a Jedi, I could refer you to the Council. You've shown a lot of potential here today."

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[Malou D'Amaris]

"More school, probably," Malou replied. By more school, what she really meant was that she'd continue on to other places to try and find more connections to the Consiluil de Sapte. There didn't seem to be much of anything connected to them here, so it would've been a loss of time coming here if not for her meeting Ruzaan. It presented some unique opportunities.

"The Council?" Malou frowned at the name. The Jedi had a council? She wondered if they operated in the same way which the Sith council did. "I- I don't know. The Jedi only take kids, don't they? And plus-" Malou trailed off, still frowning. "-do the Jedi really want to do good in the galaxy? Sometimes it seems you all have your own motives at hand."

She was certainly interested in what he was offering, but to what degree and why, she was not sure.

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan was mildly- and pleasantly- surprised that Malou was interested at all. She seemed too composed and regal to be a Padawan, as Ruzaan had to admit that most of the Padawans (himself included) acted first and thought second. Just by being around her he felt self-conscious, as though part of the reason she was wary about the Jedi was because of his own example.

"The Jedi accept humanoids of all ages and species" he replied to her query, "one of my fellow Padawans is in his 30s I think, and while I'm one of the youngest Padawans I only started my training about two years ago. Most Padawans are a little older than me and are in their late teens. You'd have plenty of people your age to call friends!" Ruzaan smiled as he imagined Malou meeting Clove or Sabatha.

Her second concern was a little harder to address; "just take my word for it" didn't seem like a good argument in defense of the Order. "I... I don't know" he admitted, lowering his gaze to the floor in order to collect his thoughts. "I guess it sounds too good to be true, doesn't it? From my experience, most Jedi want to leave the galaxy in a better state then when they found it; but like any group of people we sometimes disagree about how to do that." Ruzaan shrugged. "But I can't really control how people view the Jedi, because people see what they want to see- unless they're able to look at things from a different perspective." Ruzaan glanced back up at Malou, and gestured towards the exhibit. "Maybe the same can be said for the Sith, but I've not met one that wasn't trying to kill me, so..." he let the thought trail off with a what-can-you-do smile. Time to change the subject. "How much longer are you planning on being on Kesh?"

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[Malou D'Amaris]

Malou listened quietly to Ruzaan's response to her question. She wasn't surprised that the Jedi were accepting of all sorts of people. 'Young kids would've been a Clone Wars-era rule, I guess.' It had been a few centuries since then. He spoke of the Jedi's views, then mentioned he'd never met a Sith that wasn't trying to kill him. At that her mind flipped back to the beginnings of a scar she saw on his arm, back before they had moved on to the food court. 'Did a Sith do that?' She wouldn't be surprised, and if he had that scar, it probably meant he had fought a Sith as well. It meant, too, he had lived. Considering how ruthless and bloodthirsty many of the Sith she knew were, she was mildly impressed.

But the thing which caught her attention the most was his assertion that she would have plenty of people her age to be friends with. It caused her pain, hearing those words, because she had no friends. Other than Cornelia, of course, but their interactions were mostly as peers. Though she may feel differently about Malou, and while perhaps Malou could consider her a friend, they were not close.

And yet, the idea of the Jedi still brought forth a feeling of disgust within her. 'If they are so focused on helping others, when do they stop to help themselves?' Malou would not argue that her desire to better herself above all else was not selfish. It was selfish, but she deserved to be selfish. For years she had done what everyone else wanted her to do. Now that she was given the opportunity to abandon that mindset, she would never return to it. To do anything but constantly seek self-improvement and power would mean letting her father win. And she just couldn't do that.

"Not long now," she responded. She had not found much of anything pertaining to her research here, and thus had little reason to remain here. Before she left, though, she wanted this togruta's contact information. Though she was the antithesis of everything he stood for, she liked him as a person. As long as she kept her affiliation a secret, perhaps he could be of use. 'As a friend, or if anything, an asset.' Knowing a Jedi would be invaluable if she could gain his trust. Trying to learn Jedi secrets was probably out of her reach--he didn't strike her as stupid--but perhaps he could be useful.

"What about you?"

tag: @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan's nod in response to Malou's answer concealed his disappointment that she had to leave so soon. He'd have liked to get to know her better, as he felt that he was just scratching the surface of who she was. Then again, he reminded himself, you weren't exactly straightforward yourself. The thought nagged at him, and he tried to justify his earlier actions by reminding himself that his status as a Jedi wasn't something to be waved around wantonly. Still, he felt the need to apologize.

"I'm not exactly sure" he said first, to answer Malou's question. "Kesh is isolated enough that getting here on public transportation is like dancing the-" he stopped before referencing an obscure Togrutan dance known on Shili for its difficulty "- it's complicated. I'll have to check the nav charts, but I'm guessing I'll be leaving soon, too. And I want to apologize for not being totally honest earlier about who- or what- I am. Being a Jedi is a big part of me, true, but I'm grateful for the times that I can just be Ruzaan."

Before he left the museum, Ruzaan made sure to exchange contact information with Malou; with a little help from the Mirulakan he was able to navigate his datapad successfully. "Travel safe, Malou!" he called over his shoulder. Force willing, this wouldn't be the last time their paths crossed; Malou had impressed and intrigued him, and he pondered the idea of having a friend outside of the Jedi Order as he left the museum.

/ThrExit

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