Ask Rainbow Road

[Katherine Stargazer]

It had been a hard few days for Kat. War was a nasty business, and the nights of constant, vivid dreaming stopped her from getting proper rest. She would awaken exhausted more often than not, putting on a brave face. Always, her dreams were of rainbows of light, refracting around a dark chamber, sometimes comforting, sometimes terrifying. Still, she chalked it up to stress until a Rattataki tribesman brought her some strange, colorless crystals.

'Kybur Crystals!' the excited boy exclaimed, much to Kat's confusion. 'What even?' She thought to herself but didn't say it because that would be rude. She had never heard of such a thing, but the excited chittering from the... courtiers? The people who followed her around and gossiped. Their excited chittering gave lie to the crystal's mundanity, not to mention Kat's own unconscious fascination with them. She wanted them, desperately, for when struck by the light, they shone with the same rainbows she saw in her dreams.

Still, something told her these crystals weren't for her. She longed to keep them, yet holding them made her feel hollow as if rejected by a friend. 'Where did you get these?' Kat asked the Rattataki boy and received her answer amongst his excited gibbering.

She didn't know what they were in truth, so she turned to the one woman she could trust on mystic matters. Celeste! The Warlock would know who to talk to in order to find answers about these wacky rocks. When prompted, her first muttered answer, 'Well, the Jedi-' was all Kat needed to nod happily and ask Stetti to call a Jedi to come to Rattatak. If these stones were so vital to them, they would be an excellent item to trade with these Jedi. Perhaps they could use this as leverage to secure ships to support their war?

A good plan, Kat thought, and so she waited happily if tiredly, on the designated landing pad, watching the spooky Jedi's ship descend from the sky.

@LadyRen @Reylo4evr

 

[Edaara Tonor]

A Jedi had been requested on Rattatak because, supposedly, the tribes on this planet were in the possession of kyber crystals. Edaara had done her research after being nominated to go. She looked out one of the windows as the ship lowered. She was the only organic being; a droid was flying the ship. When the ship finally touched down, she exited the ship. She was unusually somber, considering everything that had happened recently.

She walked down the ramp and onto the landing pad, where a large blonde girl was waiting. She stopped a few feet away from the girl. "Hello," she said. "I am Knight Edaara Tonor. What is your name?"

@Shax @LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

"Oh great, wise sorceress, but we do need your guidance! They've taken our lands yet again!"

, she heard the scrawny old man desperately plea another time. "First of all: Do not call me that" she growled warningly, unintendedly making the man shy away yet another step, his eyes huge with fear. "Secondly, you don't have to be afraid of me or Kat. We're nothing like your tyrannical predecessors. I'm constantly reminding you of that. Thirdly, I will tend to those matters as soon as we have welcomed our guests. I've told you before: Your land is not going anywhere. You are welcome to stay here as long as you need to. I promise I will deal with them as soon as I can" she went on, trying to keep her voice softer and more empathetic, but you still couldn't deny the authority inside it.

She had already grown oddly fond of Hybenthas, the old white-haired man, whom Celeste interpreted as some sort of tribe eldest. He had enlightened her about the Rattataki culture and some traditions, telling her valuable stories that made Celeste understand the people better, but he had something on him that regularly pushed her buttons. He was constantly nagging, always complaining over yet another trifle and while he came to her with literally a dozen problems, other inhabitants barely confronted her with one. During the small amount of time Kat and she had spent inside the Cauldron, they had already won their respect and trust and Rattataki were not usually easy to trust.

After Kat and Celeste had overthrown the Cauldron's leaders, they had been celebrated like some new found Gods. The former slaves and surrounding tribe members had welcomed them like the new warlords, even though they had repeatedly informed them that this was no position they wanted to obtain. Yet, Kat was still addressed as the new warlord, while Celeste had secretly managed to pull herself out of that, rather moving into the position of a consultant and contact person for any sorts of concerns. It was a but amusing, because the Rattataki still looked at to the both women as though they were overmighty. They had huge respect for Kat as she was incredibly strong and smashed any upcoming challengers with brute strength, while they were frightened of Celeste's use of the Force. They pictured her like an evil, unpredictable warlock, therefore always approaching her carefully, but on the other hand they entrusted her with their worries.

However now, Celeste signaled the old man that she had to leave right now, but he still possessed the audacity to follow her. "I will be back soon, then I will help", she assured him once again before picking up her pace. She made her way back to Kat, briefing her on the situation with the Jedi but leaving the Sith out completely for now. She didn't want to confuse nor upset her, so she had only told her that inviting the Jedi was more complicated than she might have thought. However, she had agreed to do it anyway. She wasn't supporting the Imperials as much as she could right now, so she was fine with making peace with that situation right now. Maybe they could count on their support while taking over the rest of the planet afterwards...

She waved in Kat's direction while she approached her, actually relieved for being able to escape the Cauldron for some time, attending different matters today. Unfortunately, there was however no time for a chit-chat, as the approaching ship was already landing. Right then, Celeste had no idea how she should feel about the approaching Jedi, but she had sworn to keep an open mind. She was a trained Sith, but her political views had always been slightly different and that's why she wasn't holding any grudges against the Jedi. Per se, she thought that even after what happened on Kashyyyk, a whole Order should not be blamed for the mistakes of a few others. Not to mention the Empire in any way...Celeste was generally convinced that it was always the people themselves who mattered the most, and not the affiliations with the Sith Empire, the Jedi Order or whatsoever. However, she was doing here best to cloak her dark presence and emit a more neutral aura.

When the Jedi greeted them, she smiled warmly, taking on a respectful, welcoming and yet confident position. "Welcome to Rattatak, Knight Tonor. May I introduced you to Katherine Stargazer? My name is Celeste Stythani, we are very happy that you could meet us here so quickly" she replied politely, gesturing to her friend Kat while introducing her and nodding when she introduced herself.

@Reylo4evr @Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

"Call me Kat!" Kat exclaimed with a great big sunny smile. She held her hand out to shake because it was polite and it was always nice to greet new friends in a... friendly way! "Welcome to the Cauldron!" Kat exclaimed, gesturing grandly at her mountainous volcano lair.

"Thanks for coming to Rattatak, I know it's pretty far out of the way but we appreciate it nonetheless. How much do you know about what it is we asked a Jedi to come here for?" Kat asked primly, looking down at the smaller woman. "When I was first presented with the rocks I asked Celeste here about them because she knows quite a bit of magic, and she said the Jedi were the best bet in figuring this stuff out." Kat smiled, happily ignorant of any strife this might cause.

@LadyRen @Reylo4evr

 

[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara smiled a genuine smile at Kat's excitement. "Lovely to meet you both," she said, holding her hands in front of her. She nodded when Kat talked about the crystals. "It was right of you to call the Jedi," she said. "Do you know how the people got ahold of such crystals? I am not sure the Jedi Order is aware of any potential kyber crystal mines," she continued in her most diplomatic, kind tone.

@LadyRen @Shax

 

[Celeste Stythani]

She briefly shook the hand of the Jedi knight, perfectly careful of not revealing her dark alignment as their skins touched. She would keep it hidden as long as necessary. This mission was completely diplomatic and Celeste had agreed to Kat's plan anyway, but as the latter revealed that Celeste had taught her certain things about the Crystals and the Force already, she shot her an inconspicuously warning glance.

However, she carried on casually, not letting any negative emotion shine through. The warm smile was still on her lips and it was actually quite genuine, since she was honestly delighted to meet an envoy of the Jedi. The knight would definitely be of help and if Rattatak officially assisted the Order, they could probably hope for any valuable repayment. " As far as we're informed, there could have been a cave with a natural occurrence of the crystal, but those are only rumors. We do hope to shed some light on the truth while on the mission" she explained with the same friendly smile. "The finding is interesting though, because Rattatak is commonly known as extremely poor in resources, so these rumors were extremely interesting for us" she elaborated, before directing her gaze into the sky above. They still had a few hours of daylight ahead of them if they would commence their mission right now, but the Jedi had a long journey behind her and so it was only kind to demonstrate their hospitality. "You must be very exhausted, knight Tonor. If you want to freshen up and relaxe a little, we can offer you the hot springs of the Cauldron. Otherwise, we have a room prepared for you. You can take as much time as you need".

@Shax @Reylo4evr

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat nodded along with Celeste's words. It was the polite thing to offer, and to be perfectly honest they weren't in much of a rush. Plus, if the Jedi wanted to rest she would have nowhere to go to evade Kat's questions! A win-win situation, Kat thought. "The boy who brought the crystals described a small crack in a mountain out west. Though he didn't explore it, there were a pair of crystals near the entrance." Kat said, expanding on what Celeste had said.

"I can have him brought to you if you have any questions, I've put him in a room in the Cauldron while we try to figure all this out." She continued. "Though, I'm still a little unclear on why the Jedi are the people we were supposed to contact? What is so interesting about these rocks?" Kat asked. She liked the stones, they made very pretty light shows, but why would they be so valuable to these people?

@Reylo4evr
@LadyRen

 

[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara nodded at both Celeste and Kat. "A rest would be nice; I can gather more information now." she replied to Celeste. "I would like to talk to the boy," she said to Kat. She considered for a minute, wondering if she should share that information. "What do you already know about them?" she asked as she followed them towards the building in the distance. Her green skin stood out against the other humans nearby but she hardly noticed.

@LadyRen
@Shax

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste had purposely left out a few information on the Crystals because she wanted this interesting meeting to commence without any pre-influenced opinions. Also, she wanted the Jedi to reveal as much information as possible. She was not pursuing any sinister motives with that, as she had nothing against them and she was also not trying to mess around with the Order, but she was genuinely interested about her views on the Crystals.

They made their way back to the mountain together. The Rattataki standing nearby observed the Jedi knight curiously, but Celeste knew that they wouldn't ask her any questions, which was rather good, because she didn't want them to interact at all as long as she was hiding her own Force related background. "Alright, then let us visit the boy first", she replied politely, not answering the second question as she was assuming it was directed at Kat anyway. Celeste sure knew a lot about the Crystals, but it was better to stay focused on the Rattataki folk lore for now.

@Shax @Reylo4evr

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat hummed as she followed along. She knew where she was going to be sure, but she was more than happy to let Celeste navigate! When they got lost, she could always point and laugh after all. Though it wouldn't be fun to starve in the warren-like tunnels, but if that's how she goes, that's how she goes.

"Personally? I think they are just pretty rocks. The Rattataki have plenty of stories about powerful gems, things like 'the heart' of this or that mountain, or stones left behind after great volcanic eruptions. But none particularly mention a Kybur crystal, at least to my knowledge." Kat mused.

"That's why we asked for you! After all, it's never a good idea to start handling potentially explosive stuff without an expert on hand. While I can handle almost anything that can blow up on you, I've never seen this stuff, so I figured it was prudent to ask for help, you know?" Kat asked seriously.

@LadyRen @Reylo4evr

 

[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara smiled a genuine smile at Kat. She was beginning to like her. Blissfully innocent; but there seemed to be something behind the girl's eyes, a darkness that her radiant smile didn't quite reach. It was none of her business.

"They certainly are pretty," she said to Kat's comment. "You don't have to worry about it being explosive; it's safe to hold." It would be for Kat, at least, who didn't seem to be Force sensitive and who had no idea what a kyber crystal was. "I will tell you more once I speak with the boy," she said. She needed a little more time to feel out the situation; figure out more details. She glanced at Celeste. "Who are you?" she said, not unkindly.

@LadyRen @Shax

 

[Celeste Stythani]

So far, the Jedi knight seemed very soft-spoken and polite, which was a great sign. Celeste was rather sure that she wouldn't even necessarily despise her if it became obvious that she was using some powers of the dark side, but for the sake of this mission, she still kept her darkness concealed for now.

However, there was something that made Celeste slightly mistrusting: Knight Tonor was being a little too cautious for her taste. She behaved as though she was expecting that someone might stab her in the back. But if truth be told: It was more than understandable that when a Jedi is summoned to a remote desert planet full of pugnacious Natives to investigate some rumors on Kyber Crystals he or she would be cautious, so Celeste tried not to be misstrusting herself. Instead, she still forced herself to a warm, friendly smile, even when the Jedi directly addressed her. "My place is at Kat's side. I was with her since they one and I'm trying my best to counsel and support her", she replied politely.

@Shax @Reylo4evr

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat narrowed her eyes at Edaara, suspicious of her claims that the rocks won't blow up in her hand. Soon enough, her expression flipped back to her happy face as she dismissed the idea from her mind. Still, something told her that the stones could be incredibly dangerous when handled poorly. It was almost a foreign thought that kept her from genuinely relaxing about it until she could learn more.

Kat looked over at Celeste when she spoke up, an odd combination of emotions flittering across her visage. She was at once touched, suspicious and happy. Despite all her claims of friendship, genuine reciprocation beyond what is mutually beneficial is foreign to her, so despite how desperately she wanted to believe her friend, Kat couldn't shake years of ingrained teaching.

Still, regardless of her friend's true intent, Kat would treat her as if she was telling the truth. She smiled and slung her arm around the shorter woman, pulling her close in a half hug. "Thanks," Kat said.

"Bring the boy to Edaara's room; we'll meet him there." She continued after a moment, glancing over to address one of the guards Stetti had assigned to her.

@LadyRen @Reylo4evr

 

[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara nodded at Celeste, and then Kat. She smiled a little at the relationship the two women shared. It was good that they had each other; everyone needed someone. However, just because she had accepted Celeste's answer for now, she certainly did not trust either of the women. She figured if everything stayed diplomatic there would be no problem.

They walked further down the hall in silence and stopped at a door, behind which Edaara assumed was her room.

@LadyRen

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Like always, Kat's hug was just a little too tight, but not bone crushing tight this time at least. Celeste chuckled slightly when her huge, strong arm was slung around her before Kat instructed a guard to bring the boy. The Jedi knight seemed satiesfied with her answer now, which was a very good sign since mistrust would only make this shared mission unnecessarily more difficult.

The trio started walking into the direction of the guests and Celeste was still hiding her presence within the Force, just in case the Jedi wouldn't be as friendly and soft as she seemed for now. Celestes thought they would get along rather well and for now they hadn't even began the actual mission, so there was still time to put the last suspicions aside. They had soon reached the designated room and Celeste's went past the Jedi to open the door for her before she would gesture her to enter. Celeste could already hear approaching footsteps, so the boy was already hear and she was very curious to find out where this conversation would go kmow.

@Reylo4evr @Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat let Edaara enter first and followed her in right after. It would be the place the green-skin would be staying; after all, it is only polite to allow them to become acquainted with their new home. Still, Kat spared a smile for Celeste for holding the door. That was very polite also.

They were all seated on the meager furniture for a moment before the door opened again, and in marched a rather nervous-looking young boy. He was small, perhaps only ten years old. His skin was pale, a natural Rattataki, though he was free of the dark lines and tattoos that marked the other members of his people.

Kat's whole being seemed to shift as he walked through the door. Her back grew ramrod straight, and her smile bled from her face slowly, eyes narrowing, focused only on the boy. It was an almost entirely unconscious change, as she regarded him like a judging older sister, full of imperious certainty.

The boy shivered under her gaze but still stood straight under his Warlord's attention. "I would have your name, boy," Kat proclaimed, her voice soft and not unkind, though carrying just a hint of warning.

"Kerk, Warlord," the boy uttered, meeting her eyes.

"Tell me, Kerk, what do you wish to be?" Kat asked.

The boy had to think for a moment, "A pilot, Warlord." He said nervously, and Kat suddenly found herself envious that he understood both Basic and Rattataki at such a young age.

"You have done a service to me, Kerk. Help this Jedi, Edaara Tonor, to the best of your ability. Should your effort prove satisfactory, I will see to granting your dream." Kat said seriously. Without looking at her new friend, she gestured to the Jedi and, by proxy Celeste, allowing them to question the child.

@Reylo4evr @LadyRen

 

[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara had a weak spot for children. It did not take long for anyone who didn’t know her to figure this out. When the boy walked in and Kat addressed him, she wondered if she was a little harsher than necessary but figured it wasn’t her place to decide.

Edaara sat on the chair in the room, to be at a closer eye level to Kerk. “Hello, Kerk. How are you?” She said to him, smiling kindly.

@LadyRen @Shax

 

[Celeste Stythani]

Celeste sensed that Kat was trying to come across like the respectful person she had become in the Rattataki society, but she was slightly suprised that she kept her addressing of the boy so sober. She left it uncommented still, since this was not the time to counsel her in anyway. Not in front of the Jedi that was supposed fo help them. When the boy expressed his wish, however, she couldn't keep up her rather serious demeanor any longer and she immediately starting smiling softly.

After Kat instructed him talk to the Jedi, she could see a hint of insecurity in his eyes. The Rattataki had needed some time to get used to Kat and Celeste, but a green-skinned Mirialan was a different story. He still kept himself together rather well, but Celeste softly nudged him from the side. "It's okay. You can talk to our guest" she told him softly as his mistrusting glance had quickly switched to her, hoping to release him of some pressure. She assumed that he was not feeling exactly comfortable while having three grown women interrogating him. Perhaps they should leave the room? As this thought occurred to her, she was quickly looking up to Kat, slightly raising an eyebrow.

@Reylo4evr @Shax

 

[Katherine Stargazer]

Kat leaned back and crossed one leg over the other, lounging on her seat like she owned it, which she did. She watched intently as Celeste's better nature broke out in a way Kat hadn't expected. While she might have thought that one such as a vaunted Jedi would know how to speak to children, and indeed Edaara seemed to know her way around that kind of conversation, Kat wouldn't have pegged her dark, scary warlock friend to be such a softy.

It was cute!

Still, Kat knew, perhaps better than her friend even, that there was a certain attitude the Rattataki expected from her. Deviating from it would only invite criticism until her rule was truly secure, so as much as she might have enjoyed acting the big sister to every child that crossed her path, she could only afford a certain amount of warmth. Visible but restrained affection. It made her seem benevolent without looking like she didn't take her duties seriously.

Kerk swallowed his nerves and looked both women in the eyes. He didn't quite flinch from Celeste, though it was a near thing. By Kat's reckoning, despite trying for the benevolent warlock attitude, she tended to be more frightening than she was trying to be. The boy looked at Edaara before speaking up.

"I'm ready to fight, and you?" The boy said with conviction, for that was a traditional Rattataki greeting.

"Tell her about the crystals you found, Kerk," Kat said, not wanting to force the child to stay away from his tribe any longer than she needed to.

The boy nodded and spoke up with excitement, "I was following a wisp through a canyon by my tribes camp," Wisps, though rather arcane, are often reported by various tribes as spirits of good fortune, if not mischief. Kat had seen them flitting through the mountains herself, and they were odd ghostly things, leaving a green trail like a comet. "It led me down a slope by the Laguna Blade," A mountain like a jutting sword, "And when I reached the bottom, it flew into this thin cave in the mountain itself; it was very dark, so I didn't want to go inside," Kat nodded, that was good caution. "But a glint caught my eye, and half-buried in the sand was the crystal my tribe presented to you, Warlord." He said. He was speaking to Edaara but nodded his head towards Kat at the end.

@Reylo4evr @LadyRen

 

[Edaara Tonor]

Edaara smiled a little at the boy's greeting. "Ready for anything," she replied.

She was quiet as she listened to Kerk's story. She wondered if the boy was Force-sensitive. She glanced up at the others, her gaze lingering on Celeste. "Thank you for bringing this to me. Do you think you remember the way to the cave, Kerk?" she replied, turning back to the boy, her smile still kind.

@Shax
@LadyRen