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Roland Rook

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The moment she recoiled from his touch he pulled back. When she said badger, a specific image came to mind. If Roland were a gambling man he would have bet it was Clan Solus. They had a zeal to them that made the Rook's gut begin to twist into knots. He had a bad feeling about this the more he saw the Pantoran's pained state.

He was busy trying to piece it together but his mixed concern for the Jedi and her words made him hesitate. It was an unexpected question at least now. It was usually the type of thing most people assumed about a Mandalorian, a distaste for force sensitives. The visored head shook from side to side faintly. "I don't think force sensitives make the galaxy better or worse." They were just other denizens of the galaxy with power that others lacked. He knew that Indy didn't mean the Jedi Order specifically, or the Sith cultists.

"You..." He added after a pause. The questions, the confusion, it was evident that the Knight had undergone something difficult and needed stability and answers. "...you aren't my friend because your a Jedi, Indy." His shoulder plates of his armor raised a he shrugged. "...you're a good person. You don't need The Force to for that."

Even if she couldn't see his face, Roland tried giving her a reassuring smile. "I'll...give you a minute." The boots of the Mandalorian took him a few steps away towards some other ruins and partially buried debris so the Pantoran could have her space.

@Killa Ree
 

Indy Sati

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She swallowed again, willing the sickness to fade off and the screaming protest in her ribs to die down. But she could feel hints of what he was feeling; his anxiety at the mention of Clan Solus. His concern, even the tone in his voice said so much more than any facial features ever could. Not for the first time, she had a strong desire to see his features; not out of a curiosity like those of the majority of the galaxy, but because it could be frustrating to not see anything of facial expression. He sounded kind.

Reassuring.

Hearing what he said, though, visibly surprised her. She blinked a few times... but flushed at his words. A good friend... she hadn't anticipated becoming a good friend for anyone. But hearing it was... nice. She nodded once, managing a faint smile.

"Thanks, yeah. I just... need a minute to process things."

She exhaled.
It's not you, she wanted to say, but after his own words, they sounded flimsy.

She had set the hilt in the sand after first flinching away from Roland. She had to steel her nerves to prepare herself now. She took a couple deep breaths to prepare, then reached out again.

This was going to be different from the lightsaber she helped Roland with before. She just wanted to know more. Understand why the Mandalorian did what he did.

It was time for a larger picture.


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Roland Rook

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It was awhile before Roland looked over his shoulder just to make sure Indy was still there. He paced himself by flipping between his infrared vision mode just for curiosity's sake. But that passed quickly.

Some of the deeper parts were in the shade and likely led to other areas that had findings. Most of the area was barren and plain. Perhaps it once had works of art along the walls, furniture and decorations. But it was the husk of what it must have been.

Roland turned the corner and saw a large mound of metal and sand. The booted feet came to an abrupt stop as he realized what he was looking at. The muzzle of plasma cannons that formed into a snout, large jointed legs that were bigger around than Roland's torso that ended in still sharp metal claws. The layers of sand, shredded metal and armor plates that must have been super heated and cooled in its last battle, all of these details were taken in by the Mandalorian as he stepped closer to the dead machine.

When he was a kid his Tribe had spoken of the basilisk war droids. "Bes'uliik" He whispered its name in his native tongue. The war machine was well beyond any form of repair. It only would have value in terms of scrap, museum, or monument at this point.

The cloaked warrior circled the cadavar like hulk that rivaled most air speeders in size. Most of the droid was submerged beneath other rubble and sand. He noted the gouged markings from what were obviously lightsaber marks. Roland tried following what clues were left that told about what happened long ago but he was still too close to the outside where the elements made his naked senses limited. There was a chance more information lurked deeper within the ruins, less disturbed by time than what was out here. The Mandalorian's cross shaped visor looked at the dead basilisk war droid, wondering what had happened to its rider and if he was ready for the answers that might follow.

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Indy Sati

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Don't think. Just focus.

Don't lose yourself in the memory. Open yourself to the Force. You can feel it, Knight Sati. The memory's still there. Eons ago, but still prevalent. Still here. Just breathe, and remember it's just a memory.

It's just a memory.


She inhaled one last time, and on a steady exhale began to sink herself into the Force. Into the memories of that day. That day here... and the man who carried it.

A badge, of a badger in orange and black and rust. Atop something she had never seen before, descending. The brilliance of the Temple loomed ahead; the sounds of speeders and warships engaging was a distinct, harsh sound. There was an insignia of something on the door, one she recognized all too well as the starbird, once a symbol for a rebellion. But this man...

This man seemed almost empty. Seeing through his eyes, there was only one intent; the singular desire to destroy all Force Sensitives. And though there was no joy at this prospect... there was also no remorse. No regret. No. She had to sink further into its' memory, into its' past.

From an outside view, sweat began to bead off her temple, nostrils flaring with deep breaths in, silent exhales out. There was something else. A woman.

Regret. Pain. Grief. It was there, it was all there, but at losing her they lost so much more than a leader. He lost so much more than that.

He had approached the ground; the doors were shut, but he got through. So many Mandalorians. So many others, attempting to flee. Through the hazy chaos, she could see lightsabers. She saw one, that hummed with a vibrant green energy, and a woman with dark hair. She seemed remarkably calm.

There were no words said. But her death was only a small satisfaction; a pity he couldn't end her life with the poetic justice of the Fallen Blade. None of this mattered to him anymore. The lives lost, the bloodshed. It was all just part of the conquest.

A helmet of stern beskar, but a name with it. Leandros Solus. "We will bathe the galaxy with their blood." But only deeply controlled jealousy, but oddly... brotherly conspiratorial grief. This wasn't necessarily for Her, whoever she was. No.

"I need a name. Give me his name."

"Koil Solus"


And suddenly, it was over. It was done. Somehow... in some strange twist of logic... the previous owner blamed the Jedi for losses. All Force-users. It wasn't just a hostile takeover, it was a blatant genocide. Paling in comparison to Emperor Palpatine... but a genocide nonetheless.

She had so many more questions now. So many things needed to be understood. Perhaps, if Roland wanted to... she could ask him. In time. Always in time. When she stood, her back and ribs protested, and she hissed in a breath, forcing herself to stand and limp upright.

He wasn't there. So she forced herself to get up and start moving, trying to find her companion. Things were still confusing, still hard to process... but unlike the initial first shock, she realized he was someone she trusted deeply. Someone who had proven himself time and time again not only to be a loyal ally, but a reliable friend when she needed him the most. Still... if this was a Clan, perhaps he would know more of Solus than she would. Time to find Roland.


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Roland Rook

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The Mandalorian could feel a bit cooler in the shade of the ruins. The craggy structures were given some additional shade as a large asteroid chunk dimmed the light of the system's sun. The combat boots scuffed against the dirt and stone as they carried Roland a few steps away.

A small curtain of sand dropped further inside the ruin as some wind came through. The Mandalorian cocked his head to the side, switching to low light view. Waiting, he saw it again. A murmur came from Roland as he made his way towards the dull sparkle. Coming to the mound of sand he dropped to one knee so he could brush away the dust and rocks covering some debris.

There was a body, it's dried and old clothing mummified by time. Beside it was an odd shaped item. Picking it up delicately he turned it over, trying to ascertain its origin and purpose. An extended backing to it looked to be an aftermarket modification and clearly electrical. Standing up, he shifted his stance, sweeping some of the sand to see if there was anything else worth looking at. There wasn't mandalorian armor, probably would have been stolen. There weren't any lightsabers, broken or otherwise. They probably considered them trophies or relics He thought to himself and then became aware of the weapon he carried on his person, taken from the Sith. He turned and headed back outside but stopped after seeing Indy was approaching. "Su'cuy...er...hey" His gloved hand still held the angular object openly.

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Indy Sati

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She glanced over at Roland for a moment. The rigid tension of before was gone, but she looked worn out and felt like she had aged a few years. Glancing over at Roland's hand, she blinked a few times before her vision adjusted, and she frowned and leaned closer.

"Where did you find that?" she asked, glancing up at his visor. "May I have a look?"

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Roland Rook

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Seeing Indyana get closer, he glanced down at the item in his hands. The Mandalorian knew a bit about droids but he didn't hesitate holding out the device for her to take. "Sure thing."

Roland waited a moment after handing it over. His eyes weren't looking at the droid he had offered. The man's eyes studied the woman's face to see if there was any clue about her wellbeing. She looked borderline exhausted. "I think its an old drone or something that has an aftermarket memory bank on it at least." It could just be a fancy camera for all he knew.

"But let's head back to the ships for now." It was more of a suggestion than anything. It was hot even in the temporary shade. It only got hotter since the asteroid that had been dimming the sun's rays finally moved out of the way, casting the ruins in bright light again. The Mandalorian knew they could spend probably the next few days here if they wanted. They were pushing things. We've been pushing things since we got here, the first time. Enabling Indy's enthusiastic attitude had been partially due to Roland relating to the drive for work. Maybe if he could get her to choose some more rest then this feeling of concern would stop gnawing at the Mandalorian.

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Indy Sati

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She nodded once slightly woodenly, too tired to protest. She gazed down at the object in her hand for just a bit, before slowly handing it back. He was right; she was hot, tired, and things still hurt horribly. But at least she had gotten something... something that, if she was right, had such a huge historical value that even her peers would have been amazed. But that view, and the emotions throughout it, took a toll on the Jedi.

Giving a small, tired smile to the Mando, she made her best imitation of a cocky salute and a wink.
"Sounds good. I'll need some time off to study up on this temple anyways; thanks for... sticking with me," she nodded to the outdoors, the place where they both got injured in the first place, and where they returned.

She wasn't sure if she would have succeeded in this expedition alone. She knew she ought to thank him more properly later, but she wasn't really certain how to, what he liked or anything like that beyond their brief first mission.

Thought for another time, maybe.


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Roland Rook

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He took the droid back and looked Indy again. A part of him was glad she was taking a break. Another part of Roland knew he was a hypocrite for wanting her to rest when he barely did. "I wouldn't have been any better off on my own.
I'm...glad I waited."


After a moment he would gesture outside. "Do you want some help back to the ships?" He began reaching for a canteen of water to make sure she was hydrated. "Heatstroke, you ever had it?" Leading the way if she didn't go first, the Mandalorian headed back to their ships. "Yeah, you don't want it."

When they got back to the ships he would set the droid he picked up in a spot to look at later. First he wanted to make sure that their ships were secure in case another sandstorm came through or if there was some other danger. As far as he knew there could still be those scavengers around.

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Indy Sati

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She knew he was staring, but glanced up when he even acknowledged that it would've even been a difficult task for him; a surprising idea and not something she'd taken into consideration. At first, she was going to refuse needing help to get back; after all, she was a Knight, she had been through worse things in training surely. But some of those past images made it hard to reconcile with the present it was.

Broken, falling to pieces. Even without the ravage of the battle that happened here, time did far more damage. She couldn't fault Roland for the people of his past, but now she was brimming with questions. What was the full scope of what was happening here? What affected these people so much, that they were motivated to destroy all Force Users?

But most importantly, who had Koil Solus been, and how had he come to own this particular blade?

Coming back to Roland's question, though, she blinked at him a few times before the questions registered.
"I'll be all right," she commented, taking up the canteen with a nod and following after. Not initially realizing it was his... but by that point, she wasn't really up to being prissy about it. "But what about you? Wearing all the armor in this heat can't be that cozy either."

By the time they got back to the ships, she knew she wouldn't be able to fly anywhere anytime soon. She turned to give one final look to the Temple, a frown on her lips. "I'm going to need a team, maybe..." she muttered, mostly to herself.
"I'll be doing a lot of excavating... but I want to know what happened. Anything in there that belongs to Mandalorians however..."

Her gaze panned back to Roland, giving her classic grin, golden eyes glimmering.
"You're more than welcome to have. Least I can do for someone who stuck his neck out for me not once, but twice. And maybe a drink later... but not yet. I have the feeling I'll be sleeping off the rest of the day and the next before even thinking of going in again."

She turned away from the ruins, content to de-sand and sleep off the rest of the day if she could. But she had a gut feeling sleep wouldn't come easy now.


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Roland Rook

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"It's not just cloth on metal plates. There's some cooling features. But..." He leaned a little closer as if to whisper a secret. "I am kinda sealed in here. I mean, it's just a swamp in here. I've got suction cups for eyeballs and eyeballs for air it's a mess underneath all this." A lazy hand waved in front of his face, chuckling a bit as he straightened up. He unashamedly laughed at his own joke. Ah kark I'm sounding like Otto

The helmet turned back toward the ruins at the mentioning of more possible artifacts. "There's somewhere else I think that might be worth looking out actually. Probably unrelated to this..." He paused, nodding towards what was site. "I think it would be good for the Rangers and Jedi to do some more work together maybe. But, I'll tell you about it tomorrow. "

Roland order the droids from his wrist to swap since they had charged so they could watch the perimeter while the Knight and the Lieutenant slept. Locking the Cobalt Viper afterwards he fully took off his armor. It was sweaty and the man felt on the dirtier side. But for all intents and purposes it wasn't too bad unless Roland actually had to exert himself. Bits of sand sprinkled onto the deck of ship. Occasionally Roland groaned, having to reach and bend in ways that still were sore.

A shower and some simple food was in order afterwards before cleaning and putting portions of his armor back on. The helmet he left off and brought under his arm into his quarters. The firespray patrol craft would blend in just fine in the darkness of the coming night as would the corellian light freighter. But for now it was still daytime and Roland didn't think he was going to sleep easily. But after only thirty or so minutes he would find himself drifting asleep.

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Indy Sati

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She smirked at his response, rolling her eyes only after she was about to walk away. "Duly noted," she cracked back, patting him on the shoulder. "So if I ever see that face... prepare to brace myself?" she teased, giving a tired, playful smirk. "Good to know."

She paused when he continued talking however, head cocked slightly to regard him first... and then the Jedi blinked, trying to kick some mental power back into gear. She blinked, and then as her mind caught up, a slow smile dawned, eyes warming with genuine happiness.
"Yeah? Couldn't agree more. Can't wait to hear what you have in mind too," she gave a tired, cheeky grin.

"Tomorrow. I'll look forward to hearing about that tomorrow."

So saying, she made her way up the ramp to the Galahad, locking it behind her. Once finally within the ship, however...

She let out a slow, shaky breath.

Slowly limping away, she slumped into the nearest booth and carefully set the hilt of the lightsaber down. Carefully, she shucked off her jacket, hissing in pain as every movement twinged the broken ribs. Same for the rest of her outfit, baring the essentials. The bandage was still tight; she ached for a bath, but she slumped down face first into the closest cot she could get to, letting out a muffled groan as her ribs protested again.

It was within moments she fell into a deep sleep, but it was all but dreamless.


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//Exit Thread?
 
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