On These Burning Towers

[Khivas]

@Malon, @Breeso

Khivas had spent the entire night chasing down the back alley scum (or rather the excuse that passed as back alley scum on Naboo. Damn Nobles) to find out what he could about the terrorist and his little mad dog bombing on the Rebel Forces stationed and training on Naboo, meanwhile his newest student and official Padawan, Clara Firestorm, was self teaching herself the fine powers of Force Leap and Speed.

Sadly, beating up thugs and scumbag wannabe thugs proved mostly fruitless, as they all had legitimately no idea how the hell somebody could manage to get the right type of explosives to get past the scanners of the Rebellion and then blow them up in such a way, nor could a single one of them explain how the hell somebody had so many enhancements to their body and not be Force sensitive. However, as each and every single one couldn't give Khivas an answer to his question, they each helped a little in helping him to get closer to figuring it out himself.

The fact that nobody knew who this guy was spoke volumes, as it showed that this person was more than likely working alone to pull all of this off, a feat elevating them even higher in Khivas' priority list as what he had done and will no doubt continue to do was no small feat. Ever since the bombing, not a single ship had left nor entered Naboo airspace undetected, a wise move by the local commanders, one Khivas was thankful for as it helped to remove the possibility of this being an Imperial hit and run, as well as ensure that the person hadn't left yet. On the other hand, this also drove home the point that this madman had to be caught, because he still was indeed very much on Naboo and very capable of striking again.

Further insight on this matter told Khivas that this person might actually be using the Force after all, if only for the fact that as he moved about the main cities and even during meditation, Khivas could not for the life of him sense any lifesigns that proved to be of hostile origin towards the Rebellion or the Jedi. Normally a droid could be capable of that, but when Khivas first encountered this opponent, they emanated emotion, something droids do not and are incapable of emitting, meaning whoever did this was of mortal flesh, but despite this their feats were far reaching and not of mortal nature, meaning it was most likely humanoid with enhancements.

Yet here he was, searching yet again with the Force, this time in a full state of meditation, full power devoted entirely to finding this man, and he couldn't find a damn thing.

Thinking back to the tales Master Ayso used to tell him, and the lessons that Rakkir gave him during his time in hidden exile, Khivas remembered the ability to hide ones' self in the Force, and not simply camouflaging the body to remain hidden, but truly disappearing from even a skilled Force User. Khivas himself was capable of this skill, but possessed little talent for it, but he knew of it, and it was this insight that lead him to believe that he may be chasing after somebody with the Force, somebody that was damn good at hiding, a prospect that worried him.

"Pardon me, Master Jedi." A voice rang out, their knuckles rapping on the door to the empty room Khivas sat in, disrupting his meditation. "Hm? What is it?" The Knight replied. "Sorry sir, but we have allowed a single ship through to land here in Selton. They say another Jedi arrives with it, and that you'll know him when you see him, that you sent for him?"

"Bren..." Khivas thought to himself, happy that his message got through to the council or whoever was in charge of this sort of thing these days. "Yes, I sent for him. Take me to the landing pad, I'll retrieve him." Khivas said, thinking to himself that he had hoped to receive a more seasoned Jedi to help him and Clara, but alas, this would have to do, and in light of things, Khivas did teach this kid a few tricks, so he shouldn't slow them down too much while he and Clara did their investigation.

In fact, Bren might actually be able to help, big time no less. The kid had a knack for finding things that shouldn't be found and getting in over his head, after all he found his way to a planet that shouldn't have had a single scent of Jedi about it, yet he had by the sheer will of the Force found his way right to Khivas' feet. "Welp, couldn't hurt to test the waters with him now." The Knight thought to himself, as he made it to the landing pad and awaited the door to open, feeling Bren's presence from behind the gateway, ready to greet each other after such time apart.

"Clara," Khivas said, reaching out to his pupil through the Force, "Hate to call you like this, but head to the spaceport here in Selton, there's someone you should meet. And great job on learning those techniques I told you about. I promise we'll go over them properly when this rolls over."

 

[Breeso]

Training. Meditation. Studying. These things were interesting enough to keep Bren working, but there was still something missing. Bren had problem mainly with meditation, which affected his training as well. He couldn't concentrate properly as his mind was always trying to think three steps ahead. Which didn't help at all. So, of course, when he was informed that he is to be sent to Naboo on his first field mission (or first mission in general), it sure made him feel more excited. Plus, he is going to see Khivas again, the only Jedi who found some time for Bren a few times to train. Then again, it might be in Bren's mind feeling awkward when talking to the other Jedi.

Journey to Naboo was, luckily, uneventful, and included a lot less worrying lights and noises than when the pilot was Bren. He tried to meditate, but wasn't very successful in remaining calm. He felt too nervous and excited at the same time. Before he arrived on Naboo, he put on the gear Khivas gave him, including the vibrosword and two blaster pistols. Bren spent some time fixing his destroyed one. Bren feels like it is rather unstable, but it will have to do.

After the ship landed, the door opened and Bren stumbled out of it, still shaken from the flight, but he quickly tried to cover it and smiled at the Jedi Knight instead. "Ah, Khivas," he said. "It is very nice to see you again."

 

[Clara Firestorm]

Clara sensed her Master's presence entering her mind shortly after another catapult of a Force jump sent her careening over the bridge once more. This time, she cleared the bridge, landing gracefully on the other side. No water. The Force was already alive and speaking to her. Khivas was summoning her back in Selton. How many hours had she been training in the Force techniques he had taught her? She honestly couldn't say. Time had slipped by much too quickly. Gathering her belongings, she made her way out of the garden quietly and immediately sought the nearest public transport out of Theed.

Half an hour later, she was in the air over Selton.

Already she could sense Khivas' presence in the Force. Her intense meditations and training in the garden had not only increased her abilities, it had increased her awareness of the Living Force as well. It was because of this sudden rise in awareness that she could sense the presence of another Force user with Khivas. It was immediately clear to Clara that the newcomer was aligned with the light side of the Force and so couldn't have been the terrorist her Master had sought.

I wonder what he's up to, she pondered to herself.

Clara arrived at the spaceport nearly an hour after Khivas had originally called out to her through the Force. She found him in the interior of the port, accompanied by a young man, around her age, whom was clearly the source of the light side Force energy she had felt on the flight in. As she approached, she gave a subtle nod and a friendly smile towards Khivas.

"Apologizes for the delay, Master." she said respectfully before turning to the newcomer and giving him a short bow. Her attention then returned to Khivas. "Did you discover anything about the nature of our attacker?"

 

[Khivas]

"Bren! Good to see you kid, you've grown." Khivas said as the young man stepped out of the craft and on to the landing deck. "I see the gear I made you has been working well for you, which is good because you're going to be needing it in the next couple of days. Come, there's somebody you need to meet, and we need to catch up." Said the Knight with a smile as he escorted Bren to a private briefing room and awaited the arrival of his Padawan Clara. For the hour they had until she arrived, Khivas would ask Bren how he was holding up and moving along with his Jedi studies, as well living with actual Jedi among other things, taking this brief moment to catch up with the kid and make sure he was doing alright.

Once Clara finally did arrive though, it was more or less serious mode back on for the Knight, who stood up and greeted his Padawan with a gentle hand on the shoulder and a minor scolding, reminding her not to use the term Master too often. "Tsk tsk," He started, the taste of sarcasm strong on his tongue, "For shame Clara, calling me Master still. Come, I'd like you to meet our newest team member here, Brendero Marim, a newbie like you, but his strengths lie more in tactics and brains than raw strength like you." He said, adding a teasing wink at the end of that statement.

Once the two greeted each other, Khivas would carry on with the reason why he had bought the two Padawans here together; the plot to capture a terrorist bomber who had a plot of his own. He told them both all about what he had found out and deduced, and his plans for moving forward at this time. "As much as I'd love to go crawling around looking for this bastard, the best we can do right now is wait for him to pop his ugly head out again. He won't be as brash as to simply start bombing things right away, but he does have to plan and sabotage things first in order to make things work, so simply put we're going to go about our business as if things were normal. I'll be training the two of you on what I know and you can learn, but you'll also be doing a bit of vigilant recon work; Keep an eye out for anything suspicious or out of the ordinary, anything at all, and when you find it, tell me about it. We clear?" He asked the two of them once he was done, and barring any concerns from them, the last words from his mouth would be "That's it then. Come on, let's go get some food and rest before we begin tomorrow."

 

[Breeso]

Bren nodded and followed Khivas, looking around curiously. He was happy that he can be on a new planet. Bren realised while studying holocrons that each planet in the universe differs, each has it's own story that was shaped in the past, refined into what it is now. Each time he lands on a planet, he has the honour to take part in the planet's unique story. After remembering this, Bren smiled more confidently.

"I think I've been doing pretty well," Bren told Khivas as they were waiting in the room. "I like studying history and Jedi knowledge. There is much to be learnt. However... I think I wasn't giving physical training as much thought. I don't have anyone to spar with, so my progress is very slow... I just feel nervous when talking to other Jedi." He admitted, smile fading away from his face. But he immediately put it back on, as he didn't view as a big issue. When Khivas' Padawan arrived, Bren returned the bow. "It's an honour to meet you."

After Khivas explained the situation, Bren was silent for a moment, lost in thought. Why would someone bomb the Rebel Forces? There must be a reason, a pattern to this all. It can't be random bombing. Bren looked concerned for a second, but then replaced the worried look with a smile. "Understood, Khivas. Let us go, then. I'm very hungry." Bren said the last sentence more to himself than the others. He sure hoped they served something he didn't have in quite some while, maybe some meal from Tatooine.

 

[Clara Firestorm]

Clara nodded at Khivas' suggestion, after having greeted Bren pleasantly.

Internally she was irritated with herself. She could not as easily make herself see she and Khivas' relationship as anything more than a Master and his pupil. Could they have a more... 'open' relationship? Could Masters really be friends with their pupils? Maybe. She resolved herself to contemplate this at a later time, when it was more appropriate. It was only after she shut away those thoughts that she really noticed the grumble in his stomach.

"Yeah, I'm thinking food sounds good." Clara agreed with an eager nod. "Maybe we can catch up. Get to know each other better."

She had sort of figured out Khivas. Now, she was curious about who Bren was: what made him tick? After all, if they were going to be fellow Padawans, they'd better get to know each other better.

 

[Khivas]

Hustle and flow, hustle, and, flow. That was the name of the game of the Five Brothers Tavern. People with wallets filled to the brim with credits coming in after a hard day's work, thirsty and ready to spend as many credits as possible to remove that condition. The drinks were flavorful, the temperature properly chilled, and the food, by the gods the food! Bantha Steaks, Nerf Loins, Twi'lek spiced recipes, Nautolan and Mon Cal cutlery and skill, and a chef who's hands were so talented in a kitchen one would think the Force had touched him with such fervor that his skill with a spatula matched a Jedi Master with a Lightsaber.

And that's exactly what made the Five Brothers Tavern so god damn successful, five men, who were brothers in name only, coming together from different races and combining their unique talents to make a hell of a place to eat. Add in gambling and the occasional criminal activity or two, and this bar became the biggest and most profitable on all of Naboo. it also became an incredible nexus of information.

Of course Clara and Bren wouldn't know that, and Khivas wouldn't bother telling them, and frankly he wasn't even here for information, he was genuinely hungry and these people really did have a home brew ale and a bantha and nerf loaf with some sort of vegetable side to die for. Of course, if information did fall into his lap while he was here, he wasn't going to complain, plus it was good for Clara to see some "lowly" types, get used to them and all that. Khivas had plenty of past experiences with these types, many of their picked wallets keeping him fed for many a year, and Bren worked in a bar not unlike this one, so he was quite used to it, but Clara, well, Khivas couldn't be so sure, thus here they were, a multi-sided win win for everybody.

"Welcome to the best god damn bar on Naboo guys, the Five Brothers Tavern. The owners owe me one for saving their skins back during the Battle of Naboo, so let's go grab ourselves a table, eh?" Said Khivas, remembering the bar he was in when the battle first erupted, and how, despite his best efforts, the bar later had taken too much damage to stay open, but the owners, still living, were grateful for Khivas for keeping them that way and would pretty much give massive discounts whenever he entered the doors to this place, and tonight was no different.

"KHIVAS!" Yelled the large, boisterous human from behind the counter, his red hair falling off the top of his head and getting caught in his chest length beard, the likes of which was wrapped up in a cook's facial hair net. "My good gods damn man, how are ya! Come, come! Let me get you a table."

"Kent, buddy! Long time no see! How're the kids?" Khivas replied.

"Good, they're doing great, getting bigger everyday, and I see you got two kiddies of your own now eh? I guess the Jedi must really like you after all!" Kent said back, his laugh hardy as it left his gut.

"Yeah, surprised the hell out of me, too. Do me a favor and get me the usual though, and whatever these two want as well."

"Coming right up boss. And what would you two like tonight?" The giant of a man asked to Bren and Clara, waiting their answers as he left his arm rest on his belly with pen and pad in hand.

 

[Breeso]

Ah, this is more like it. Bren was once again confirmed in his theory that no matter how different cultures are, cantinas and bars are always the same. When he looked at the counter, Bren recalled how he himself was standing there for the last time. Working at his father's cantina changed his life, after all. In the cantina, he met the Jedi who introduced him to this world. Bren would probably still be serving bantha blood fizzes if he never met Jaleer Rukil. And even though Bren feels the trader's blood in his veins, coming with Jaleer that day was the best decision of his life.

After Bren greeted Kent, he sat down and looked around. He doubted the person they're looking for is sitting in a nearby cantina. Types like that don't hang out in bars, unless they want to hire someone, which is not the case right now, according to Khivas. He sighed and once again concentrated on his hunger. That's what they are here for, afterwards, and Bren is maybe trying to think too much through it, before he even got used to being here.
"Well, mr. Kent, I got all nostalgic, so I will have a Bantha Steak. Thank you." Bren smiled at Kent after thinking for a while.

 

[Clara Firestorm]

Clara was used to a cantina setting. There had been many such structures on Serenno.

Despite the planet's fame for its nobility, cantina were quite popular scenes on Serenno. Clara took her time to absorb the scenery around her. Nearby the main bar, a local band was playing a familiar tune. She could've sworn she had heard the tune before. Perhaps on some offworld cantina. Regardless, the Bith who were playing the piece were extraordinarily proficient and the music they were playing relaxed her into her setting almost immediately.

Taking her seat, Clara silently sized up this 'Kent' figure --- apparently a close friend of Khivas. Khivas, as it turned out, had many contacts on Naboo. She supposed that was to be expected. After all, her Master was one of the veterans of the great battle that kept the Sith Empire from swallowing up Naboo. She smiled when the man named Kent turned his attention from Bren to herself.

"I'll have what he's having," she said nodding towards Bren. "Steak actually sounds pretty good right about now."

 

[Khivas]

The food had been ordered and in a short amount of time, they'd all be eating their fill, finally releasing the tension built up from the day, and Bren hopefully putting some meat on his bones.

The cantina was as lively as ever, with one part being entertained by a live band of Bith and a crowd dancing beneath them to a colorful light show, another part entertained by two ruthless pirate types fighting a smuggler, the brawl starting over a debate about the merits of being paid upfront.

The bouncers quickly put an end to it of course, green and red flying through the air as they grabbed the rowdy patrons attention with blaster bolts, forcing them to immediately sit back down and discuss their business arrangements quietly.

"About damn time they showed up. Was wondering how long it was going to be before smugglers got called to work." Khivas said before downing his beer before getting up. "You two stay here, get to know each other. I'll be right back."

At this point, Khivas would do good best to pull information from the pirates and the smugglers, but in the meantime, the room seemed to belong to Clara and Bren.

[You two RP for a couple of rounds, learn some stuff, etc]

 

[Breeso]

Bren watched the brawl for a while, but then returned to his steak. These fights were very common in cantina. Bren coudln't say that they happened daily in his father's cantina, because even places like that get divided into cantina that "usual" criminal types and the cantina that have the honour to get visited by the lowest of the low. Marims' cantina belonged to the first group and Bren was glad it did.

The steak, just like everything, tasted better than on Tatooine, which is a bit paradoxical since majority of Bantha meat originates from Tatooine. Bren really enjoyed it, even though he didn't reach the final level of nostalgia. It's probably too early in his departure from Tatooine to feel like that.

Bren finished his meal when Khivas decided to pay a visit to the pirates and smugglers. Bren just nodded after looking around the room again, looking at each patron before looking back at Clara. What do Jedi talk about? He only really talked with Khivas, who feels more like a friend than the other Jedi. Maybe all of them are like that.
"So," he started carefully. "I didn't know that Khivas took an apprentice. We haven't been in touch for a while. When did it happen?" He asked with a tired smile. The journey was long and he just started to realise the numbness he feels in his feet and legs.

 

[Khivas]

{Since @Malon seems to have vanished o us, I'll just go ahead and finish this with Breeso, and hopefully get him to post if he too is still around}

They talked, exchanged stories, and together they learned more about one another. After their food came, Khivas returned from the "talk" he had taken with the local pirates and smugglers that had been grounded recently, and had learned a few surprisingly discerning things. "Sometimes more mynocks come when tempted with honey rather than vinegar..." He thought to himself, noting that this time it was being cordial and buying a few rounds for people that got the information he needed and wanted instead of beating people to a pulp.

Eyeing his two students, Khivas saw that they had chatted and learned a bit, but Clara was still a tad shy and Breeso a tad awkward, so when the food came, he simply patted each on the arm and had them sit down, eat, and that was that. The food, as per the usual standards of the Five Brothers Chef, was divine and worth nearly any price paid. It didn't take long for them to finish eating either, and soon enough the group left the tavern for the comforts of the local rebel garrison, where they would rest and relax and train the next day, all to bait and tempt the terrorist into showing himself.

 

[Breeso]

When Khivas returned, Bren started talking again, more confidently this time. He asked Khivas what he was up to so far, and told him about his experiences in the Jedi Order so far.
"I noticed that those training droids are a bit unused recently," he said. "Sure, some people use them, mainly Padawans, but I think they could be used for more than training. I did not think it all out yet."

After they were done and departed from the tavern, Bren was feeling relief. He looked forward to resting and meditating. He needs to be prepared for his first mission. He kind of realised that he was making a bigger deal out of it than it actually was, but he still felt the need to success.

When they came to the rebel garrison, Bren yawned, greeted a few people and then said goodnight to Khivas and Clara. He then decided to venture into the land of dreams. He dreamed of something either really weird or really scary. He didn't remember what it was in the morning, just that it was a very vivid dream.