Ask (Not) Just the Two of Us

[Haldir Eressëa]

He had never been to Thakwaa before, but the planet brought back fond memories of when he was still a young Padawan since Rudra had many tales regarding the planet itself and its inhabitants.

Haldir disembarked from the Kogitsunemaru, for once unmasked and unadorned with even the most minute of disguises. Having just arrived on the planet, the Arkanian Offshoot was clad in a green tank top, black cargo pants, and a pair of sturdy boots. Resting on his head was a pair of round framed sunglasses. The Knight had opted to discard his jacket, for once indulging himself as the light breeze cooled his warm skin.

Originally, he was to travel to Noe’ha’on, but Rudra had already beaten him to the planet. Instead, the Morellian tipped Haldir off about a lead the former had managed to gather and sent him to Thakwaa instead. The Arkanian Offshoot relayed the information to the Council and volunteered to investigate the lead given that it was what he had been doing for the past months. While his previous investigations met dead ends, progress in other aspects of the Jedi Order’s investigations against the Killiks finally bore fruit. He was elated to learn that the scientist, Mikkial Zappal, he and Hera had located and asked to help with formulating a possible cure was successful in doing so.

A few meters from the landing bay stood a wooden cottage, a male Thakwaash standing on the porch and watching the newcomers with a curious frown. Haldir regarded the native with a polite bow. The alien had been kind enough to allow the pair of Jedi to board with him and his family given that this was the same Thakwaash that sent Rudra the information about rumored Killik joiner presence in the area. Together with a small investigative team, Haldir and Willa were to help them locate the Joiner and its group and deal with them accordingly.

The Arkanian Offshoot had slight reservations with regards to working with the Thakwaash due to their multiple personalities. Haldir, however, wouldn’t let his own misgivings hinder this mission.

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

Their roles had been reversed, it seemed.

With her long absence from the Jedi Order finally coming to a close, she had broken ties with her past, having finally fully embraced the Light. And with it, came a difference in her appearance. Hair tightly braided and coiled atop her head, she wore well-fitted robes in soft black and a split skirt, long boots laced up beneath. She didn't bother to hide her face, but a half-mask of black fabric covered the lower portion of her face.

She had followed Haldir in a bow, her voice a soft lilt to fill the lull in noise.

"Thank you for your hospitality. We shall be sure to repay this kindness."

She gave a slight glance to the man, still surprised at seeing his face open to the elements. He was always so fair; would the sun not burn him? Still, she couldn't say much; she never had any trouble with the sun. A slight nudge in the Force was given to him.

Relax, Haldir. The Light doesn't respond to such a serious face.

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Haldir Eressëa]

Though the frown remained on the Thakwaash’ face, the male’s presence in the Force was more curious and grateful. He returned the pair of Jedi’s polite bow with one of his own before gesturing at their attire.

”If the rumor of Joiner presence in our world is confirmed, I advise for the two of you to be better equipped. We won’t have those who help us be put it harm’s way by our compromised brethren’s hands - assuming that there is indeed Joiner presence and some of our people are compromised,” cautioned the Thakwaash kindly. ”It’s true that the Force is your ally, but we cannot be complacent.”

”Of course,” Haldir assured him with a small but genuine smile. ”Would it be presumptuous of me to address you by your first name, or…”

The Thakwaash nodded in approval. ”By all means, please do so. Formality will not get us anywhere.”

”Then allow us to thank you once again for your hospitality, Kabish,” the Knight said, gesturing between him and Willa.

The Arkanian Offshoot held off on commenting about how their roles seemed to have reversed. It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to say that they both changed, but for the better. Haldir, for his part, was finally learning how to let go of his own attachments to the strict tradition he was raised in. Of course there were still merits in concealing one’s identity, but he wasn’t so shackled, not any longer.

A nudge from her through the Force prompted the pale Knight into looking at her, his shoulders visibly relaxing both from her reassurance and at Kabish’ current personality. He dipped his head in acknowledgement, the smile on his face growing wider.

Yes, ma’am.

Chie’s irreverent attitude was finally rubbing off on him, after all these years - or most likely the retired Ranger’s playful quips.

”The investigative team thought it prudent to leave the scouting to the both of you,” Kabish told the pair as he approached the two Jedi. He handed Haldir and Willa a commlink each. ”The communicators’ frequencies are only known to you, myself, and Goryo, the head of the team.”

He lifted a hand and pointed at the mountain range from a distance. ”A ship crashed into the mountains two weeks ago. A search and rescue party was sent, but they found no survivors nor bodies. Instead they found bits and pieces of material identical to Killik shardships. The amount of recovered shards numbered too low; perhaps the owner of the ship only gathered them for scientific purposes. But as I said, the team did not find any surviving crew or their bodies. Something was- is amiss.”

Kabish shot the two Jedi a hopeful look. ”The Jedi Rudra Severino told me that we can count on the Knights Kanz and Eressëa to aid us in solving this matter.”

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

She barely managed to avoid rolling her eyes at his smartass comment, but didn't bother hiding the slight grin that touched her lips instead. Still, she would let Haldir do the talking at first, merely allowing her Sight to expand. She swept her gaze over the horizon, slowing her breathing. Kabish and Haldir's voices faded into the background of her senses, as she grounded herself in the earth, looking, observing.

Only when Kabish approached did her concentration end, and she took the comm with a slight nod.

"We won't waste any time, then." She glanced at Haldir, singularly sharp brown eye and milky brown one glancing towards him with a firm expression. Still, at the mention of Rudra, she slanted a look at Haldir again, and tilted her head slightly. Even now, the older Master was guiding Haldir, a fact which bemused greatly.

Bowing once more to Kabish, her voice was gentle, warm.

"We will do what we can to protect your people, and solve this." Hopefully, the Force wouldn't make a liar out of her, but... there was something odd about all this. Shards, but not enough for a Shardship. No survivors or bodies. What if...

Suddenly, she turned to Kabish again, her gaze firm. "Did anyone be absent since the ship's crash? Or unusually long stretches where they were unaccounted for?"

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Haldir Eressëa]

Neither Haldir nor Kabish had enough time to smile gratefully at her reassurance (the former) or ponder about her query (the latter). The moment Willa uttered the last syllable to her question, one of Kabish' children stepped out onto the porch. Nothing seemed too out of place at first, the child looked to be the curious sort who just wanted to take a look at her father's visitors. The Jedi were here to help with whatever was troubling her father and his colleagues. She was just going to look– there was nothing wrong with that, except…

The warning through the Force came a little too late, like discordant violin notes played too brusquely with a frayed bow. Kabish' daughter dropped on the porch with a blaster bolt to her leg. She cried for her father just as her brother stepped out the door, one hand raised and armed with a blaster pistol. As the boy moved to aim at his own father and pulled the trigger, Haldir felt his body moving on its own, the Force coiling around him and augmenting his strength so he could push the much larger Kabish out of harm's way. Of course this meant that the Knight took the brunt of the attack instead, the blaster bolt hitting him squarely on the shoulder.

Pain lanced across the Arkanian Offshoot's injured shoulder, the force of the shot sending him crashing to the grass. From inside the cottage Kabish' wife let out a shocked and anguished scream as she lunged forward towards her son, wrestling the weapon from his steely grip.

"Rokesh! What-?!" exclaimed Kabish, disbelief and confusion written on his face as he himself recovered from how hard Haldir had pushed him aside. The Thakwaash looked absolutely torn between lending his aid to the fallen Knight and rushing over to his own son. But the empty gaze Rokesh gave Kabish, the reality that the boy had just shot not only his own sister but also his father's acquaintance, and the way he simply fell limp in his mother's arms spoke more than enough of what the boy was going through– or more accurately what was influencing him.

Rokesh blinked, his eyes turning into that of what a Joined looked like.

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

She hissed in pain as the blaster bolt that hit Haldir also felt like it burned into her own shoulder, and she staggered. Though she was able to come to grips with what happened sooner than the rest, her only regret was that she wasn't fast enough to protect both the little girl and Haldir.

Gritting her teeth in pain, she shook her head at Kabish, wrapping the Force around the boy's arms and body and pinning him into a Force Stasis. "Keep back," she spoke in clipped tones to both parents, her features pained. "I'm sorry, but right now this being is not your son. Let him go so we can help him," she looked to his mother, flicking her gaze to her daughter, "please."

It would be difficult to split her attention, risky even, but she nodded to the smaller child who had been shot.

"Take your daughter and bring her closer to us; we will try to remedy this and make sure he can't hurt anyone else, even himself," her voice was soothing, calming even, as she maintained a pressure around the youth so that he wouldn't be able to shoot anyone else, nor even move. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to keep even his unnatural strength at a standstill.

"Haldir?" She called out over her shoulder towards the fallen Knight, not breaking her line of sight of the boy. "Are you and Kabish alright?"

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Haldir Eressëa]

It wasn't the first time he was shot – the scars he received from his days as a Sector Ranger were proof. Still, there was no ignoring the injury as he placed one gloved hand atop the wound on his shoulder, focusing on the Force to at least dull the pain he felt. Haldir thanked the stars that the blaster hadn't been set to heavy or else there would have been a hole where the blaster bolt hit. He heard Willa hiss, at first confused until he immediately realized that she must have felt his pain through their Force Bond. The Knight grunted lowly, took a deep breath in through his nose and slowly exhaled, the Force gathering on the hand hovering over his wound until a soft light emanated from his palm. He focused on dulling the pain rather than healing first, pale blue gaze honing in on Kabish' son whom Willa had swiftly pinned in a stasis.

His gaze fell on Kabish himself next, trying not to focus on the Thakwaash' horrified expression and the cutting fear the latter felt through the Force. He watched as Kabish picked himself up, the Knight allowing the Thakwaash to help the Arkanian Offshoot up on his feet. Haldir managed a gruff but sincere "thank you" at Kabish, the latter mindful of the former's wounded shoulder.

Lastly, he looked at Willa, gaze focused on the back of her head. Haldir took another deep breath in, out, then another, grounding himself in the Light as he endeavored to soothe his pain – if only to minimize the distraction it might further bring his fellow Knight.

"We're alright," he answered briefly but reassuringly. Then, to Kabish' wife, he said, mirroring Willa's words, "We can help him. I swear."

He had faith that they could – Haldir had been one of the Jedi who brought Mikk Zapal to help the Order find a cure for the Killik Joined after all.

"Leeshana," Kabish' deep baritone joined the pair of Jedi's as soon as the Arkanian Offshoot finished speaking. He held out his free hand towards his wife. "We can trust them, my love."

Leeshana's gaze was firmly fixed upon Willa, as if gauging if the half-Morellian spoke the truth. Luckily Willa's words and soothing voice proved helpful in calming the female Thakwaash. Leeshana's demeanor changed as she nodded, her expression and behavior adopting a more placid and calculating air. She let her son go and went to her daughter, taking the crying girl in her arms then swiftly approached her husband and the two Jedi. She was assessing her daughter's injuries, muttering about first aid treatment until her gaze fell upon Haldir's shoulder.

"I trust you have medical supplies on your ship. I'll take care of your injuries in a moment."

Haldir nodded gratefully then directed Kabish and his family sans their son inside the ship. The two Jedi were then left with the Joined Rokesh who did not struggle against the invisible force pinning him. Instead, the child only stared emptily at the pair with wide, unblinking eyes.

From a distance, the sound of speeders approaching could be heard. Halting his own treatment of his injuries, Haldir reached out through the Force in an attempt to gauge whether the approaching newcomers were friend or foe, and was instantly met with the unsettling sound of cracking glass. The Arkanian Offshoot frowned before his gaze alighted upon Willa.

"We have to leave," he told her, tone urgent. "Take the child if we must. But we have to leave now. I don't like the sound coming from those speeders."

Haldir pointed at the immobile Rokesh, quickly but carefully Pulling the child towards him and Willa. While she kept the boy in a Stasis, the white-haired Knight set upon moving the kid. He let her and Rokesh enter the ship first, the Arkanian Offshoot's attention split on the pair then at the speeders as they now appeared within his line of sight. There were three approaching, bearing four armed Thakwaash each. Their clothes screamed military and while there seemed to be no hint of Killik presence in each individual's mind, their coldness and ruthlessness through the Force was unsettling enough for the Knight.

Haldir's wariness was not unfounded. The approaching group were indeed military, but they had one goal in mind. With the presence of starship shards on the crash site, and with Killik Joined rumors growing out of control within the community, the head of security and the community leader agreed on one thing.

"Eliminate Joiners when you see one," the head of the approaching soldiers commanded his troops as soon as they caught sight of Kabish's home and by extension, Haldir's ship.

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

She allowed Haldir to move the boy into the ship, maintaining her focus to keep him still. However, the wide, unblinking eyes unsettled, and when Haldir mentioned others approaching, she had an idea in mind. She took the blaster away carefully; it took some considerable effort to prise it free, but the moment she did, she flipped the safety on and tossed it further away towards the ship's front.

"Haldir, keep him still and keep them all in the cargo bay with you," she answered calmly. "Let me handle this. You need to get that shoulder treated anyways," she glanced back at him, features firm. "I'll call if I need help."

As soon as they would be safely stowed in the ship, she would make sure to slowly walk down the gangplank, watching as the speeders drew closer. She could feel her heart thudding in her chest at the lack of emotions in the group; they were here for only one thing. Hopefully, her plan would work, and hopefully Haldir could keep the boy contained long enough for her plan to work.

The moment the soldiers would draw closer, she would step down, holding her hands out towards the group.

"Stand down, soldiers," she answered calmly. "I am Willa Kanz, a Knight sent for by your council. How may I help you?" As she spoke, she looked at each being in turn, making sure to make eye contact as she spread her palms out. First, to make a show of being unarmed, but also, to begin her plan; hopefully, to stall them even for just a moment. Something to distract them long enough to pause, and turn away from the ship.

@Forsythe Crowholde

 

[Haldir Eressëa]

He didn’t argue against Willa’s plan, trusting that she knew what she was doing. Instead, Haldir focused more on immobilizing Rokesh as he followed the young Thakwaash’ family aboard the Kogitsunemaru.

”I’ll be there when you call,” the Knight told Willa before they parted for the meantime, pale blue gaze locked on her face for a moment in a bid to relay that he trusted her and had faith in her plan regardless of him not knowing what she would do. With a nod he turned away, but not before glancing at her over his shoulder a final time.

He led Kabish and his family towards the ship’s small medbay - if the makeshift room could even be called as such. Leeshana was quick to gather the medpack the Arkanian Offshoot handed her, as well as the bandages and extra bacta patches he supplied her with. Kabish, on the other hand, focused on helping Haldir restrain Rokesh while Leeshana worked on treating her daughter’s wounds.

Haldir kept his gaze on the immobilized Rokesh, growing almost exceedingly curious as to why the Joined child never resumed his struggling. It was either the hive mind found it prudent to somewhat withdraw most of its influence on the kid, or that it chose to watch and wait until the Knight faltered. Whatever the reason, Haldir maintained his grip on the boy through the Force, mindful not to hurt him but also careful so as not to give Rokesh an opportunity to exploit the Jedi’s kindness.

”Kabish,” he called the Thakwaash’ attention, his voice quiet but firm. ”When was the last time Rokesh was out of you or Leeshana’s sight?”

Catching on the gist of the Knight’s question, Kabish readily replied. ”He went on a trip with his teacher and fellow students a day before the ship crashed. They were on that same mountain, and…” The Thakwaash’ eyes widened with horror as realization dawned on him. ”By the stars, Rokesh must have been turned that day. And if he’s turned, then the other children…!”

Just as Kabish’ answer made things worse, Rokesh seemed to stir and renew his struggles with detached determination. The boy’s expression was blank, but the strength behind his attempts to free himself from restriction made it difficult for the Knight to keep him still. Afraid that Haldir might falter even for the briefest moment, Kabish wrapped his arms around his son in an attempt to help the Arkanian Offshoot restrain the boy.

Outside, the soldiers disembarked from their speeders while the leader approached Willa. The team leader, a male Thakwaash taller and broader than his squad, surveyed the half-Morellian with a calculating eye, his gaze sweeping from head to foot. While she was unarmed and her demeanor calm, the leader stared at her far longer than necessary either in a bid to intimidate her or to gauge if she was truly who she claimed she was. He made a show of asking one of his men for his datapad, searching for the council’s instructions about the Jedi’s aid, his gaze now flickering between her and her profile in the datapad.

He swiped on the next page, and from the way he held the datapad Willa would be able to see that the leader was now looking at Haldir’s profile. ”The Jedi sent two of your people. Where is your colleague?” he asked her, baritone voice rumbling through his chest as he spoke. He then tipped his head towards Kabish’ home. ”And where is Kabish? I wish to speak with him.”

Back inside the ship, Kabish and Haldir’s combined efforts managed to keep Rokesh still. When the boy tried to scream his father had clamped a hand over his mouth in the nick of time, and Haldir managed to construct a barrier within the medbay to prevent any sound from escaping the room - a trick he learned from Willa. But with his focus divided between the barrier, the wound on his shoulder, and keeping the Joined child subdued, Haldir knew that he had to relinquish control over one of the three.

He chose his wound.

Pain flared again from his injury but he gritted his teeth and endured, even as Leeshana moved to treat it. The sting of disinfectant burned, but the Arkanian Offshoot only clenched his jaw and endured. It was the least he could do to help Kabish and his family; it was the least he could do to help Willa who faced a group of soldiers outside on her own.

Through the Force he reached out to her.

Rokesh might not be the only child Joiner we have to capture and subdue.

It was simple, straightforward. But it would be obvious to Willa that the current development in their mission troubled Haldir greatly. Sure, the cure for those who were Joined already existed… but what if they were prevented from healing those who were afflicted?

@Killa Ree

 

[Willa Kanz]

This would be a gamble, especially with her attention span so limited by her former Master's linked pain, but she would have to manage. She couldn't deny feeling a spike of anxiety curl in her stomach when the Captain asked about Haldir, but... she would have to try her plan.

It had to work, it had to.

Slowly weaving her hands before her, the Force wove through her words, a convincing, simple statement that would affect all the soldiers and their captain with the meeting of her eyes and the movement of her hands.

"Knight Haldir and Kabish are both currently following a lead concerning the plausible presence of Joiners in the local populace." Technically not a lie; just the lead happened to be in the cargo hold and probably excessively difficult to manage, judging by the pain flaring in her shoulder again.

She took in a deep, calming breath, feeling a cold bead of sweat slip down her spine. Calm, yet the Force, the half-Morellian reminded herself. She wouldn't lose focus now, not when she had to protect their lead.

Meeting the Captain's eyes once again, her voice was firm, but calm. "Actually, we were hoping for a lead from the local law enforcement. If we work together, we can gather any possible Joiners, and quell this civil unrest without having to shed any blood. Especially with the strong probability of curing these individuals," she spoke up, still holding her hands out to show she was still weaponless.

@Forsythe Crowholde

//Rolled a 17

 

[Haldir Eressëa]

The Thakwaash soldiers were taught to keep eye contact with both their fellow warriors and ruffians alike, followed by surreptitious calculated gaze on the other person's whole frame. And although some of them knew how to approach Jedi and their ever favored Mind Trick, the current situation at hand - so dire and nerve-wracking - had caused tensions to rise between the group. And that tension, that sliver of anxiety that crawled through the minds of even the bravest of the bunch in front of her, had fallen for Willa's calm conviction and influence. Visibly, the Captain relaxed and gestured for her to lower her hands.

"You Jedi have only just arrived and yet you are already throwing yourselves into action," commented the Captain, and though it would have been unnecessary of him to do so at the moment Willa would see that her response eased the tension among the soldiers somewhat. At her following words, the Captain's ears twitched, hinting at the hope her words had sparked not just from himself but also his men.

"We have seen the news about this cure, but Zapal denied being instrumental about its development." He huffed out a breath, glancing at his men. "I am not asking for you to understand our council's decision to eliminate Joiners on sight upon confirmation, but the contradicting statements from one of your own Council and the scientist do not help with our plight. One of my men was forced to eliminate his brother after the latter was confirmed to be Joined. Still..."

Though standing at ease, the soldiers were starting to grow restless. Some threw glances towards Kabish' house, looking a little flummoxed at the lack of movement nor presence in the building despite the open front door.

"I have to be honest with you, Knight Kanz," here, the Captain's voice grew more grave, his countenance darkened by what he said next - a direct corroboration to what Haldir had relayed with her through the Force, "our squad have not been killing every Joiner we come across. We have secretly detained some. They are... They are children. We do not take joy in killing one of our own even if they were Joiners. So if there exists a probability of curing them, no matter how low..."

The Captain paused then stared at Willa, long and hard, as if weighing if she could be truly trusted about her claim even if he already did - perhaps he was just afraid of getting that small hope dashed. Still, he nodded to himself with satisfaction at the determination in her eyes.

"Initially, the only lead we had was that ship that crash landed that carried fragments of a Killik shardship, along with the lack of bodies nor survivors. We have received new leads about Joiner activity from those we have been secretly detaining, although it is a bit puzzling that it was leading us back to the crash site. We have released one of them after pinning a tracker in the Joiner, and she returned to the crash site and has not moved since." Signaling for one of his men to step forward, the Captain then handed Willa a datapad that showed a map of the area on screen. A red dot blinked on the mountain range, the coordination set and named 'Point of Interest'. "Can you contact Knight Eressëa and ask for him and Kabish to join us? We are heading to the crash site right now."

Inside the medbay, Rokesh was successfully restrained by the combined efforts of Kabish and Haldir. Leeshana, on the other hand, was finishing up on bandaging the Arkanian Offshoot's shoulder, her sharp and clinical gaze darting between the pale man and her son every now and again. She peeled herself off of the Jedi, skimming over his medical supplies before her gaze landed on a particular bottle. Picking it up, she uncapped it and handed a single tablet to the Knight.

"Pain clouds most sentients' judgment," observed the female Thakwaash as she placed he tablet of painkiller on Haldir's palm. "It might not cloud yours, but I'm sure it worries your friend. Take it."

Grateful for the woman's help, Haldir could only spare her a brief glance at small but sincere smile. He gratefully took the tablet and washed it down with the water Leeshana offered him. "I have a favor to ask of you," he told husband and wife as his gaze settled upon Rokesh once more. "We cannot bind him like this forever. Do I have your consent to lock him in the small storage room in the cargo hold, with him bound for his own safety?"

Personality shifting back to the dutiful mother and wife, Leeshana teared up at the prospect but nodded her consent after Kabish grimly gave his own. With Haldir and Kabish holding onto Rokesh, Leeshana was tasked with clearing the storage room and removing anything the child might use to free himself from his bindings. The female Thakwaash left the medbay and set about her new task swiftly but efficiently - all this happening at the same time the Captain was speaking with Willa. Once the storage room was cleared, Kabish carried his son, arms wrapped secure and tight around the boy, with Haldir further restraining through the Force any attempt at struggling. He couldn't wait for the painkiller to take effect so he bit back the pain again but this time, he tried to shield Willa from it. As Rokesh was successfully bound and locked in the empty storage room, Haldir staggered, and he would've fallen on his knees if it weren't for the husband and wife's support - the two noticed and were quick to hold the Knight by the arms.

"I'm alright," he assured the worried pair, not admitting to the exhaustion he felt from healing and numbing his injury through the Force while subduing Rokesh. The healing sapped more of his energy, and he wouldn't admit that he had been secretly alleviating the pain Kabish' daughter felt from her own injuries if only to ease the little girl's fears and confusion even in the slightest.

@Killa Ree