Open Sernpidal Harvesting Seeds

[Emilia Vuth]

A dusty planet, yet one that Emilia knew, for a fact, that she could begin to gather weapons and armor required for what she planned to do.

And she needed a lot of weapons and armor. A lot.

The problem at the moment was she was sitting behind a create, her hand over her shoulder covering up an area where a blaster bolt skimmed her. It didn't take her down but it did hurt, and she had no interest in attacking the man who'd shot at her. He was old for a human, probably senile, and had no clue who or what she was. All he had known was that she'd been on his property and he wanted her off.

Emilia needed a moment to sit in the sand and gather her thoughts. She was in the shade, but for once her white robes helped. The white cloth clung to her lithe, ethereal form with the hood pulled up to provide a little more shade. The sun was beating down, and, from her understanding this planet was usually hot during the day.

The young sephi leaned her head back on the create, allowing her body to relax.

@SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

All Ruzaan wanted was a glass of water.

The young Togruta had spent most of the day volunteering at a moisture farm as part of an outreach program designed to help the Jedi, and he had very quickly learned that it was a case of "water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink". The farmers had welcomed his help, but hadn't exactly been generous with how much of their yield they'd shared with him. Ruzaan had quickly exhausted his own water bottle and spent much of the day running an increasingly dry tongue over equally parched lips.

When he was finally released from his servitude, Ruzaan wandered around in search of water. His feet led him towards a warehouse of some sort, and he knocked tentatively on the half-open door. "Hello? Anyone there?" Even his voice felt dry.

The Force pinged in warning and Ruzaan flinched as a blaster bold answered. The bolt whizzed past his head and sailed off into the distance, but Ruzaan had learned the hard way not to admire a blaster bolt in flight. Instead, he tucked himself against the wall by the right side of the doorframe, his hand dropping to his lightsaber as he did so. He had little desire to draw it for anything other than self defense, even as it struck him as odd that he had immediately been fired upon. Like they already had their blaster out...

"Is everything ok? I can come back later if now isn't a good time" he offered, still hoping that this might end with him getting a glass of water.

"Like hell you will!" came a voice- an old man's, by the sound of it. "You'll leave for good unless you want to get shot like your friend in here!"

Ruzaan's brain moved slowly in the late afternoon heat. "I don't--" he started to say, then reconsidered. If someone was wounded and inside, he had to try and help. "Ah, yes, my friend!" he said after a few seconds' pause. "Would you let me help them leave since, uh, they're wounded?" It was an educated guess combined with the hope that whoever the old man had shot hadn't been killed; Ruzaan knew enough Force Healing to heal a minor blaster wound, which might make him a new friend.

And maybe this friend could give him something to drink.

@Lilith

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

Sernpidal, it was part of the outer rim territories, but the planet was more akin to wild space. Tiberius had been sent here to deal with bandits that had been raiding the subterranean farms. Tiberius had made short work of the bandits, they had more bark than bite when it came down to it, and he was now on his way back to his transport. He was riding a speeder bike across the dusty planet to his destination.

Everything was going fine until Tiberius heard a loud ‘BANG!’ The front end of the vehicle went down, digging into the sandy desert terrain. The knight was flung from the bike. He landed with several tumbles onto the hot sandy ground. He laid there for a moment on his back looking at the sky. “Ouch” the noise came from his lips after a moment. Nothing was broken, the knight was just banged up.

It turns out that a stray blaster bolt had struck the speeder bike in just the right place and caused it to go down. With a groan Tiberius pick himself up off the ground. He turned to look at the bike. He sighed. There was no hope of fixing it now. He cast his gaze around him. Off in the distance there was a somewhat large building, the only one in sight. The jedi began making his way in that direction.

As Tiberius got closer he made out the shape of an individual standing by the door. As he got even closer he realized that it was a Togruta. *That’s an odd sight here on Sernpidal* Tiberius thought to himself. Getting a little closer he realized that it was none other than Ruzaan Kai.

The Jedi knight was only about 20 meters away from his young friend now. “Ruzaan,” Tiberius began with a smile, waving at the Togruta. “How’s it…” Tiberius was cut off as a blaster bolt came flying at him. He dove to his right to avoid being struck. “Making new friends I see.” Tiberius said getting up from the ground and moving a little more cautiously over to Ruzaan

Tag: @Lilith @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Emilia Vuth]

Another voice broke through the gust from the doorway and echos of blaster fire. Her friend? one of the voices claimed. The closest person to a friend Emilia had was a smuggler, and it wasn't his voice. Emilia quietly listened to the rest of the conversation between the sounds of the blaster bolts dissipating pointlessly on the walls.

Once the old man answered with, "No! You kids get off my property now!" Emilia decided enough was enough.

Within a heartbeat she summoned one of her lightsaber hilts to her right hand, folding her grip around it. The action was followed by the snap-hiss of the lightsabers purple blade igniting. Its glow tinted the sand beneath it into a mixture of tan and violet, the color fading away as Emilia stood. As expected a blaster bolt went towards her again as soon as the old man saw her. Emilia tipped her blade and took special care to deflect the bolt away from the haggard human.

The man spewed some other nonsense but Emilia didn't listen, instead focusing on the careful deflection of the bolts. "For the love of the Force, old man," Emilia began, though her tone was a little less stoic than usual. It was laced with a small hint of annoyance. "I'm leaving."

Her small sephi frame backed away towards the door, which was very close to her original position. It only took a few handful of seconds to make it to the doors frame. Before leaving she deflected one last bolt away from a togruta boy by instinct. As soon as she was away from the door and in cover she extinguish her lightsaber, though she kept the hilt in her hand because she did not know this boy, nor did she know the human she spotted after.

But all she did was start to back away from the pair of men with one curt response to the earlier offer of help, "I don't need your help." Her shoulder was still maimed and burnt, but she'd suffered much worse wounds and been fine. The proof was her bandaged covered left arm, which she used only to hide the scars from the burns she'd received from her hand all the way up to her shoulder.

Emilia still wanted to proceed with her plan, she'd just go around the old mans property.

@SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

It didn't take long for the old man to respond, and Ruzaan pursed his lips in annoyance. Sure, Ruzaan was sticking his nose where it didn't belong, but if the old, trigger-happy man was expecting him to leave whomever was on the inside to the man's creative interpretation of "hospitality" he was sorely mistaken. Ruzaan began considering his options when a familiar voice called out, the greeting bringing with it a new burst of blaster fire that sent the newcomer diving for cover.

"Hi Tiberius" Ruzaan replied, feeling bad that he hadn't been able to warn the Jedi Knight about the dicey situation. "I don't really know what's going on" he admitted, "but someone is inside with Blasty McBlastface and they're wounded."

"Are you sure?" Ruzaan called inside, switching his attention back to the old man, but the answering barrage of blasterfire gave him all the information he needed; this would be a rescue mission under fire. With a snap-hiss a lightsaber ignited, but it wasn't Ruzaan's. Surprised, the Togruta risked a glance inside the door and immediately pulled his head back again as a white-robed Sephi sprinted out, deflecting blaster bolts with a purple blade as she did so.

Maybe it was because just Ruzaan was both tired and thirsty, or the brusque manner in which she'd walked away without so much as a "thank you", but the girl's attempted exit did not sit well with Ruzaan. He turned to Tiberius, an expression of indignant disbelief settling into his features, before abruptly turning and taking some big steps in order to catch up with the Sephi. "Ah, yes, you were doing so well by yourself" he said sarcastically, keeping pace with her on her left side where the blaster wound was plainly visible. "That looks incredibly painful, well done."


@Lilith @logn2665

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

Tiberius ducked down to avoid any more blaster fire that might come his way as he got closer to Ruzaan. The Togruta explained that he really didn’t know what was going on, but there seemed to be someone inside while the homicidal man that was named Blasty McBlastface. How Ruzaan knew the man was named Blasty McBlastface was a mystery to Tiberius. He had once met a pirate named Taserface. Turns out the pirate had chosen the name himself thinking that it would strike fear into anyone who met him. Perhaps this old man had chosen the name for himself as well. Perhaps even for the same reason.

Shortly after Tiberius arrival there were shouts coming from the old man which were met by another voice inside the building. This second voice had a much younger, more feminine tone to it. The second voice was followed by the characteristic snap-hiss of a lightsaber being ignited. This could only mean that they were a force user.

Tiberius cautiously peered into around the doorway into the building in time to see the old man begin firing is blaster at a purple lightsaber wielding being. It was hard to tell who she was because Tiberius could only see her back at the moment.

As the woman back towards the door Tiberius ducked back behind the door frame to get out of her way. As the rest of the stranger came into view it was clear that she was of Sephi decent. It was the pointed ears that were barely sticking out from behind her white hair that gave her race away.

Ruzaan gave Tiberius a look and the Knight just shrugged. To be fair neither he nor Ruzaan had done much to help the newcomer. At the Togruta hurried off after the Sephi Tiberius heard hurried footsteps coming from inside the building. It seemed the old man wanted to ensure that the intruders wouldn’t be back. The old man rounded the corner and was met by Tiberius. The man tilted his head back to look Tiberius in to eyes. “Hello there.” Tiberius greeted the man and waved his hand in front of his weatherworn face using Morichro to cause the man to pass out and fall the ground.

Catching up to Ruzaan and their new acquaintance, Tiberius was just in time to hear the Togruta’s sarcastic remarks. It was clear that the padawan was upset by the lack of appreciation. Tiberius put a hand on the padawan’s should “It’s okay.” He whispered trying to calm Ruzaan. He did his best to search the stranger with his mind. He did not sense darkness within her, but she also didn’t seem to be Jedi.

“I know you don’t NEED out help.” Tiberius began speaking to the Sephi, “but perhaps you could use our help.” Tiberius was intrigued by the stranger, and he wasn’t fond of the thought of walking all the way back to his transport

Tag: @Lilith @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Emilia Vuth]

The togruta boy decided to follow her. He snapped at Emilia, half-chiding her for her current shape. Fine, he was right. She'd screwed up and she was in pain. It didn't much matter to her because she's gone through pain tolerance training. She wanted to reply to the boys attitude with a grunt, but she resisted her nature. She didn't need to respond.

So, the togruta boy was met with silence. Emilia continued forward, silently, the stoic expression on her face left unchanging. Shortly after the older man approached her. His approach confirmed that the human and togruta were acquaintances, or partners, or something along those lines.

But that thought was disrupted when she sensed... it. A tingling at the edges of her senses. The larger man was probing her with the Force. What he was looking for Emilia did not know, and it did not matter. It was an invasion of her privacy. It did not impress her, nor make her feel kindly to these strangers.

Emilia listened to what the larger man had to say regardless, until she turned a corner to be completely out of the old mans view. Right after turning the corner Emilia pivoted to face the larger man. The seriousness of her steps towards the larger man made dust and sand move around her feet. Emilia stopped closely to the larger man, head tilted upwards, locking her cold, calculating, purple eyes with his brown ones.

The sephi still clutched her lightsaber hilt in her hand. Her natural form was stiff, shoulders rolled back properly from her many years of training. Her master had been strict, almost ruthless with her training and Emilia was no stranger to combat.

"Do not probe me with the Force again" Emilia said plainly. Her voice was still stoic, but there was an obvious threatening edge to what she was saying, "This is the one and only warning I will give you."

Her cold purple eyes flicked back and fourth between the togruta boy and the man. "Why do you want to help me? Are you selling medpacs?" she asked.

@SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan shrugged off Tiberius' wrist and his words; he knew the Knight was correct, but Ruzaan was hot and thirsty and tired, so the prospect of giving this Sephi a piece of his mind sounded a lot better to him than calming down. The fact that she treated him with silence only further served to disgruntle the Togruta, and only her abrupt halt and dressing-down of Tiberius kept him from using some very creative language. Apparently, the Jedi Knight had tried to probe her mind with the Force; not a bad idea, considering that few people carried lightsabers in the galaxy, but definitely an invasion of privacy. In the same moment Ruzaan became uncomfortably aware of the fact that she was still holding her lightsaber, and that he was very much within stabbing range.

"Look, lady, I'm only here because I'm looking for a drink of water" he said, fixing her with his grey eyes. "I don't have any medpacs, but I can do something about your wound there, and then you can get back to whatever mess you're involved in."


@logn2665 @Lilith

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

The trio continued walking a short distance before rounding a corner. It seemed as though the white haired woman wasn’t listening to what the two Jedi were saying. Then suddenly after rounding the corner the Sephi spun around wildly and faced Tiberius. Dust and sand were kicked up as the woman took a few intentional steps towards Tiberius and addressed him. The Knight stood his ground and met her gaze.

Tiberius was slightly taken aback but showed no sign of it. Most people didn’t noticed the probing. Perhaps he wasn’t as stealthy as he originally thought. “I apologize,” he began, “I’ll be sure to knock next time. It’s just that you don’t come across a lightsaber wielder every day.” His eyes drifts to the lightsaber hilt that was gripped by the Sephi’s hand. He was well aware that he was in striking distance but did his best to remain calm. He was ready to dodge or defend if the Sephi decided she didn’t want to make friends. “I just wanted to know if you were a Sith, or a Jedi.”

Before Tiberius could say anymore Ruzaan chimed in aggressively. Tiberius turned his head to look at Togruta, making sure to keep the stranger in his peripheral view. Ruzaan was right, their acquaintance didn’t look like she was in tip top shape.

The knight looked back at the Sephi. “Perhaps we got off on the wrong foot. I’m Jedi knight Tiberius Fenric.” He placed a hand on his chest indicating he was talking about himself. “And this is my fellow Jedi Ruzaan Kai.” He motioned towards the Togruta. “We only want to help because that is what we do. We’re Jedi. When we happened on the scene you seemed like you were in a bit of a bind.” He cast a quick glace back to the warehouse where the old man and the Sephi were first found. His eye quickly returned to the purples ones that were looking back at him.

“If you would like our help Ruzaan here is a fairly gifted healer. I’m sure he could fix you up.” Tiberius actually had no idea how good of a healer Ruzaan was but the Togruta had offered so the padawan must have been fairly confident in his own abilities. Tiberius just hoped the Ruzaan didn’t make the situation worse by blowing off the Sephi’s arm or something.

“If you would like our help beyond that we’d be happy to help. Just let us know.” The knight was getting some strong ‘lone wolf’ vibes from the white haired woman, and he remembered a saying that he had learned during his days as a padawan “You can’t force people to accept your help.”

Tag: @Lilith @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Emilia Vuth]

The apology didn't do much. She'd received many fake apologies in the past, and his follow up question made her more uncomfortable despite showing none of her reactions on her face. The ability to somewhat suppress her reactions and thoughts was something near life-long trained. Sometimes it made people believe she was calm, and sometimes she was, but there was more emotion beneath the surface than she liked to admit to herself.

"I'm not a Sith," Emilia answered plainly. She didn't blame most Sith for the path that lead them to the darkness. She did blame them for remaining there, somewhat, if they had a lack of guidance. Everyone deserved guidance, a chance to open their eyes to another path. Still, it was not something she liked being mistaken for.

The togruta boy piped up again, going on about being thirsty and helping her in the same snarky tone he'd been using from the start. Emilia didn't react. How was he going to help her without medpacs? Somewhat confused she shifted her focus back over to the larger man and, surprisingly, found her body relaxing in a small amount. If these were Jedi, she didn't need to worry about being attacked.

Not that it was all good news. She wasnt sure she wanted them to find out what she was doing here. She did not know nor care what the Order might think of her plans. All she cared about were results. Action instead of inaction, and the amount of lives she could save if things went to plan.

One more time Emilia shifted her purple gaze between the two men, then slowly she relaxed a little more than before. With a more relaxed motion she hooked her lightsaber hilt back on her belt, returning her gaze to the taller man.

"I was not in a bind," Emilia corrected the man. "I just didn't want to hurt the senile old man, or scare him by drawing a weapon. I thought if I didn't react when he shot at me that he wouldn't keep firing..." her eyes drifted somewhat, a show that she didn't see the two men as a threat anymore. Her purple gaze returned promptly after. "My mistake."

Emilia looked at the togruta boy after making up her mind. "You can heal me," she said with her plain tone, scanning around for somewhere to sit. A rock wasn't far from them. Turning Emilia's strode to the rock, sitting atop of it with a soft grunt and wince. Even with her training there were certain things she couldn't resist displaying.

After she sat, Emilia reached to her belt, grabbing a waterskin from it. Without saying anything she held it out towards the boy, with her cold purple eyes and face still expressionless. At the same time she asked, "Why are you two on Sernpidal? What interests does the Order have on this planet?" ignoring that the man had offered to help her with what she was doing.

@SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

“If you would like our help beyond that we’d be happy to help. Just let us know.”

Ruzaan grimaced inwardly at the offer; right now the two Jedi didn't know who this woman was or what her goals were; she could've been robbing the man for all they knew. He also didn't trust her claim that she wasn't a Sith; not only had he met Sith more personable than this girl, they'd also lied about their identities as well. All he had to go off of was the cold shoulder she was giving them, which was hardly earning his trust.

Maybe he was being too distrustful- Tiberius appeared to accept the girl in the wake of his mental probe- but Ruzaan was still cautious right up to the moment that she shared her waterskin. Ruzaan nearly cried in relief as he drank, savoring every drop and feeling the water refresh his dehydrated body. Ruzaan quickly reevaluated the Sephi in front of him; she wasn't rude, she was... determined.

"Thank you."

He meant it.

Ruzaan decided to let Tiberius answer the Sephi's question about the Jedi Order, since the Togruta was also curious as to why Tiberius was here. Instead, he focused on healing the Sephi's injuries- something he had become decent at over the course of his time with the Order. After a centering breath, Ruzaan closed his eyes and let the Force flow out from him to the Spehi's shoulder, easing pain and undoing most of the effects of the blaster wound. She would still experience minor discomfort, but she would be able to use the shoulder to its full capacity without injuring it further.

Ruzaan swayed a little as he finished his healing, deciding to sit down for a moment in order to rest. Force Healing still took a lot out of him, but at least he hadn't passed out this time. Instead, he looked up at where the Sephi was sitting on a rock.

"What about you?" he asked, once Tiberius was finished answering. "What is your name, and what brings you to this dust pit?"


@Lilith @logan2665

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

“Well, that answers that question.” The knight responded flatly to the Sephi’s assertion that she was not a Sith. Tiberius believed her. His brief look into her mind had not revealed much but there didn’t seem to be cause for believing that she was aligned with the dark side. Still, she had not confirmed an identity as a Jedi either. *A little mystery to keep things interesting?* Tiberius thought to himself.

As the conversation continued Tiberius felt a noticeable reduction in the tension between the three beings. Perhaps him revealing their identity as Jedi had put her at ease, or maybe it was something else. Eventually, the Sephi felt comfortable enough to put her lightsaber away. This was progress in Tiberius mind, she no longer felt like her life was threatened. Now that all weapons had been put away Tiberius noticed how tense his own muscles had become in anticipation of what might come next. He relaxed and felt his shoulders drop as the tension left his body.

Tiberius brown eye met once again with the purple eyes of the white hair woman in front of him. She was quick to correct the Knight. She insisted that she was not in a bind. It was hard to tell if she was telling the truth or if it was her pride not wanting to admit that she had been in a tight situation. Either was Tiberius nodded and said “I see.” Trying to be understanding

It seemed as though the Sephi had decided to accept the Jedi’s help, at least for medical care. She sat on a rock and allowed Ruzaan to use the Force to heal her injured arm, but not before offering the Togruta a drink of water. It was clear from the padawans face that he was grateful for the water. As Ruzaan set to work healing the Sephi the woman inquired about the Jedi’s purpose on this planet.

“I was sent by the Order. We received a call for help from one of the villages here. Evidently bandits had been raiding the farms in the area and I was sent to put a stop to it.” There was a moment’s pause as Tiberius watched Ruzaan work. He appeared to be doing a good job. The knight continued. “I was on my way back to my transport when a stray blaster bolt from our senile old friend struck my speeder bike.” He looked over to the spot where the bike had gone down. It was about 100 meters off but you could still see the black smoke rising towards the sky.

Ruzaan finished healing the Sephi and returned the question to her. Tiberius walked over to a rock opposite the pair and leaned against it and listened to the stranger’s response

@Lilith @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Emilia Vuth]

Warmth filled Emilia's burnt shoulder. She could sense the light as it began to mend the burnt flesh. It was so relieving that the small sephi couldn't help but relax some more. All the relief made her realize just how much focus the pain took up. It was more than she realized.

Once healed, at least enough to use her arm without much discomfort, she looked back up at the togruta. Nothing much changed in her expression when he asked his questions, nor did they change for the Jedi Knights answers.

"My name is Emilia," she answered the boy first. Emilia was fully aware that they could likely input her name, face and race into the Orders database to figure out that she was, in fact, Jedi. It didn't much matter to her in the moment. Right now, the boy seemed happy with the water she gave, so she held up her hand slightly towards him whether he offered the waterskin back to her or not, "And keep it. Find somewhere to refill it while you're here," she said, adding plainly, "I have a backup waterskin."

Of course, a thought did strike her after, "So does the Order still train their children?" she asked, eyes now settling on the togruta boy, "Or do they send them haphazardly, unprepared into hostile deserts now?" she inquired further, keeping her gaze planted firmly on the boy, as if to chastise him for being out here without a water supply.

She wasn't very impressed by him because of it. But, more importantly, she was not impressed that the Order even allowed it. The boy needed more training and guidance, as far as Emilia was concerned.

Her cold eyes flicked back to the older man after she was done being grumpy to the boy. She believed the Knights answer. It seemed like something the Order would do, and Emilia wasn't that disinterested in taking part in the Knights mission. Still, she had her own dealings that were somewhat time sensitive that she needed to get to first, "I have a few meetings here. I'll be helping the locals myself. If you want to come along, fine," Emilia said as she stood. They weren't far off from the post she was set to meet the leader at.

Though lithe as her race usually was, her boots still kicked up a small amount of dust after she slid off the rock. The fact she felt no pain as she landed was refreshing. That, however, did not stop Emilia from her usual self, "Just don't admit to being Jedi so easily around here, or do anything stupid. There are lives at stake."

Yes, she was being very vague, but it wouldn't be all that bad to have these Jedi's help if she could continue to keep them somewhat in the dark.

@SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan listened as Tiberius shared his reasons for being on Sernpidal- he’d heard that the farms had been targets for raiders lately, but apparently the Knight had been successful in his mission as the farm where Ruzaan had been working had not been troubled. It still felt like a small miracle that they’d run into each other- maybe the Force had brought them together?- but Ruzaan was grateful for the older Jedi’s presence.

“Thank you” Ruzaan mumbled to Emilia around the mouth of the waterskien, already going back for seconds. He’d heard that it was best to hydrate slowly in cases like this, but he couldn’t overcome the desire to drink as much of the water as fast as he could. Even so, he nearly spit the water out as Emilia called him a child.

A frown settled across Ruzaan’s face. “I’m not a child” he said, sullenly. “And you’d be out of water and thirsty too if you were in my shoes.” He ignored the irony of that statement; as was usual, Ruzaan was barefoot. “Besides, you don’t even look that much older than me” he pointed out. The Sephi in front of him was probably no more than two or three years older than him, and if she was calling him immature then she needed to find a nearby mirror; she hadn’t even thanked him for healing her! It was just like some of the older Padawans at the temple to assume that they were the Force's gift to the Order just because they were a little older than him, and now Emilia was doing that too!

He stewed for a bit as she vaguely described her motives; normally, Ruzaan was quick to trust, but Emilia hadn’t exactly made a good first impression so his walls were up; out of stubbornness more than anything. “If you want my help, you’re going to have to be more specific than that” he said, still slightly rankled. He'd already been taken advantage of once today- by the moisture farmers. “I want to know what it is I’m going to get involved in before I sign up.” He couldn’t speak for Tiberius, so he looked over to the Jedi Knight to see what his response would be.


@logan2665 @Lilith

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

Tiberius continued leaning against the rock, listening to the other two. Emilia was kind enough to give Ruzaan her water skin, but almost immediately fell back into his bad graces by calling him a child. The Togruta was clearly insulted. The Padawan did bring up a good point, the small Sephi didn’t look too much older than the Togruta.

Tiberius chimed in. “The Order has been…” He paused looking up and to the right as though searching for the right word and hoping to find it floating in the air. “Short handed.” bringing his gaze back down he finished his thought. It was true The Jedi had been a little short staffed if you will. They had been almost constantly defending against someone trying to invade somewhere, but Tiberius didn’t know how much their friend knew about the Jedi Order’s struggles of late.

It seemed though that the Sephi was ready to accept their help beyond allowing them to heal her. However, she was being awfully vague about what kinda of help she needed. She was also not too keen on Ruzaan and Tiberius revealing their identity as Jedi, which was not totally strange, there were plenty of people who were wary of the Jedi Order for one reason or another.

Ruzaan himself, who was normally an easily trusting individual, was asking questions of Emilia. Tiberius didn’t really care one way or another. He was willing to help the Sephi, but as the togruta looked at Tiberius the jedi knight nodded. He was interested to hear what Emilia had to say, if anything. Although she had begun to relax a little bit around the Jedi, Tiberius expected her to responded with even more vagueness.

Tag: @Lilith @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Emilia Vuth]

Instead of explaining himself clearly, or accepting her feedback as something worth thinking about, the boy squawked back at her in a snarky tone again. That part struck her because, well, the boy reminded her of herself years ago. Because her master had always been blunt. Sometimes so blunt that he seemed cruel to her, and at first Emilia reacted badly to the man, almost the same as the boy reacted to her.

But after awhile... Emilia found that she learned more about her self when facing the cold, hard truth of her masters opinions. Even if they were wrong opinions, it didn't matter. And after awhile she began to dislike people who beat around the bush or sugar coated things.

Maybe that was why she didn't sugar coat anything, and why she was so critical of others. Maybe she was just her master in a younger body now. Emilia wasn't exactly sure how she felt about that thought. But she knew she was disappointed in the boys reaction, and did not take the bait to lash back at him.

Neither Jedi needed to know the full extent of her plans beyond this planet. She wasn't sure...well, she wasn't sure she could trust them, not with the way they've been behaving. "I mean to make friends with the people of this planet," Emilia stated plainly, taking steps forward regardless if the Jedi followed or not. She did not need their help, if they followed they followed. "In order to trade and make deals with them."

Her right hand motioned once through the air as she continued, "So to build that relationship I plan to speak with the local leader and see how I can help the people around here. If you're not interested in what I'm doing then stay out of my way and leave me to my business."

Then Emilia heard the Knight speak again, and for some reason that she did not understand, the small sephi stopped and looked slightly back over her shoulder, "The Order is short handed?" she asked, then looked forward again, away from the two Jedi. She was a little surprised with herself. The Orders woes were no concern of hers. She hadn't stepped foot in a temple since she was a youngling. She shouldn't care but... part of her wanted the Knight to explain.

@SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan bit back the urge to continue making sarcastic comments at the Sephi's expense; it clearly wasn't conducive to getting her to reveal whatever she was caught up in here on Sernpidal, and the stoicism with which she received his comments was only making him more cranky. If the Sephi thought that being closed off and guarded made people excited to 'make friends' and 'build a relationship', she was going to be sorely disappointed, he thought. As Emilia walked off, Ruzaan would stay put, shrugging towards Tiberius as if to say, "What can you do?"

Tiberius' comment about the Order, however, interested Emilia... and turned Ruzaan's disbelieving gaze toward Tiberius. He had half of a mind to tell off the Jedi Knight for admitting weakness during a time when public trust in the Order was already dangerously low. Even if it was closer to the truth than he liked to admit, Ruzaan couldn't see the logic in being so upfront with strangers; even if they gave him water. Why did Tiberius seem to trust this woman so much? Ruzaan realized that his mouth was hanging slightly open and promptly snapped it shut, gesturing for Tiberius to please explain yourself.

@Lilith @logan2665

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

They had been standing around long enough and the determined Sephi seemed to feel similarly. She began walking away. Tiberius pushed him off the rock that he had been leaning against. He and Ruzaan made eye contact. The Togruta shrugged at Tiberius as their new friend started walking away. Tiberius shrugged back and shook his head as though to say “I don’t know, man.”

With her now characteristic vagueness she explained what her intentions on this planet were. *So it’s a diplomatic mission then.* Tiberius thought to himself in response to the woman’s explanation. Tiberius had been on many diplomatic missions. Normally, nothing too terrible happened. Well… there was that one time but we don’t talk about that.

They hadn’t gone far when Tiberius statement about the Jedi order seemed to make an impact on Emilia. It caused her to stop in her tracks. Tiberius stopped as well as the Sephi peered back over her shoulder. She was clearly interested in the state of the Order.

Tiberius statement had made him the next target of Ruzaan’s annoyance. He could sense that the Togruta was staring as him. The knight looked in the padawan’s direction. “It’s fine.” He mouthed to his young friend before turning his attention back to the white haired woman.

Maybe it was the short glimpse that Tiberius got of her mind or maybe it was something else, but for some reason Tiberius trusted Emilia and felt that she had no malice toward the Jedi or their Order. Besides, part of making friends involved being a little bit vulnerable. Clearly something that Emilia didn’t want to do. So it was hard to imagine how she would make friends with the locals.

“Yes,” Tiberius began. “Surely you’ve noticed the events going on in the galaxy lately. With the expansion of the sith empire and everything many of the higher ranking members of the order have been a bit preoccupied. As a result more of the lower rank mission have been shifted to the Padawans.”

As Emilia responded, or even if she didn’t, Tiberius looked back over to Ruzaan and said in a low tone that only the padawan could hear “I think we can trust her. She’s on our side.” ‘Our side’ meaning that she was not aligned with the dark side. Exactly who she was was a bit of a mystery. Normally it was Ruzaan who was the one that easily trusted, but maybe the two had changed roles. Maybe it was Tiberius who was too easy to trust this time.

Tag: @Lilith @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Emilia Vuth]

Was the Order in trouble? Emilia stared at the ground for a handful of heartbeats, but it wasn't the softly shifting sands that she was looking at. Why did she care so much about this? She hadn't stepped a foot in a temple since she was a youngling. Being part of the Order felt like a lifetime ago.

Her heart quickened while she questioned herself, but Emilia did her best to snap herself out of her wandering thoughts. The small sephi used the moment to continue walking forward towards the base. She also noted that the boy was being quiet. That was a first since they've met. At first she wasn't certain he was capable of it.

"These lower rank missions," Emilia said with her casually stoic tone. "Are they critical to the Order?" There was picking up gardening supplies for the temples, then there were critical missions like expanding influence to create safety nets for the Order. Things that were necessary in trying times like this.

As she listened to the Jedi, she got to the top of a steep hill and the tower came into view. It was close and Emilia could see guards only a few feet away. They looked at her, looked at one another and said something. Emilia couldn't hear what they were talking about but the guards just continued back on the path they were going before they saw her. She continued on her path too.

In front of the entrance there were two more guards. Both aliens, a twi'lek and a human. The twi'lek spoke up, "Mance is expecting you, but those two..."

"The boy is staying out here," Emilia answered assuming Ruzaan followed. She looked back at the Knight and said bluntly, "He talks too much." That and she didn't trust his temper after the way he'd been behaving towards her.

"But he comes with me," she added, gesturing towards Tiberius.

@SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

"Yes! Yes they're important" Ruzaan answered Emilia's question. "The work of a Jedi is important, no matter how big or how small." Whether he was saying that to reassure the Sehpi or himself was anyone's guess, but he hadn't just spent the entire day toiling away for nothing on a moisture farm! Regardless of his feelings on the matter, he soon found himself reluctantly following the others after Tiberius indicated his trust in Emilia. Tiberius was the ranking Jedi on this mission- whatever this mission was- and so Ruzaan obeyed.

The steep hill was challenging to Ruzaan after a day of hard labor- every step upwards caused his legs to ache- but where the Togruta might've complained earlier he was silent. Ruzaan vowed to himself that he wouldn't give Emilia that satisfaction. He even managed to hold his tongue when she insulted him by forcing him to stay outside while the "adults" had their important conversations inside. Stone-faced, Ruzaan plopped down on the ground outside of the entrance to meditate; maybe that would help his sour mood.

He doubted it.


@Lilith @logan2665