Tricksters and Runners

[Nirvana]

So today had been actually rather nice, managing to trick a number of people to bet their credits in a small game of chance, which they had obviously lost because of his skill in it. It was his way of making a living after all, so he had to be sure to be the one that would win every time of it. Though sometimes he lost on purpose to make it seem possible to win against him, but most of the time he was the one that was winning. If he didn't win he would have to steal, and that was most of the time worse then tricking people. Other then that he had preformed a few minor acrobatic shows that kids liked to watch, some even had followed him when he moved from one location to another just to see him again. And each time they had asked and sort of begged their parents if they had any to give a few credits to him, it actually made him smile as he thought of it. But most of the time when he smiled like that it quickly went away as he knew that he wasn't one the kids should look up to, even if some of them did. He wasn't good for things like this, not one bit. Sighing he jumped up on the rail that was next to him and balanced on it as he walked, his board was over his backpack that he carried for most of the time. Glancing a bit to his right he looked out over the upper areas of Cloud City, even though he didn't own a place to live. This was where he made a living from tricking people and doing acrobatics for money, even though some people thought he was just a nuisance he still came back. Continuing his stroll on the railing he turned his eyes back to his path, just so that he wouldn't end up taking a wrong step and start falling.

 

[Cassanova]

Having successfully completed her mission of escorting an Alliance patrol to Bespin in her snub fighter, The Axiom, Juno Armstrong decided to take some time to roam the streets of the famed Cloud City. Technically this was her first time there, and as such the city and planet's finer points of details were etched into the Jedi Master's brain. Like most cities, it had its run of crime, not as much as others, typically, due to the isolated nature of the cities on Bespin - there were so few places to hide. As a result the class of criminal was much more skilled, and usually never caught.

Negativity aside, though Juno did take the time to stop and admire the view. The clouds outside one of the viewports were simply stunning as the sun was reflecting off the top of the gaseous clouds which concealed Bespin's inner layers. Wearing her usual garb of armour and robes, Juno decided to travel 'light' and leave her Lightsaber Pike with the ship. This, of course, meant that she still was a millisecond away from three other weapons should the situation call for it.

Leaning against the windowsill with her right arm, and shifting her robe back around her hip with her left and revealed her 'standard's lightsaber, she let release a deep, relaxed sigh and merely took in the view for the short moment of time that she had to her disposal.

 

[Nirvana]

His walk on the railing ended a few minutes later after he jumped down from the railing, deciding that it would be better if he walked like the more 'civilized' people that lived on Cloud City. Even if he would rather use his hoverboard more often, some people didn't really like seeing people flying just above their heads. Or for that matter seeing a street kid such as himself showing himself on the upper levels of Cloud City, they would rather have him scurvey around in the slums or around the machinery that was several hundred floors below them so that they wouldn't have to see him. But there was nothing that they could do to make him go down there unless he wanted to or had to, and when he really had to go down there it was only because he needed to hide from people that was chasing him. Some of the people that chased after him those times had even tried to shoot him, some had even managed to hit him. Leaving nasty burns where the shot had hit home, often forcing him to go hungry for more then a weeky at a time while he simply let the wound heal on it's own, along with the use of stolen medical supplies.

Sighing to himself he continued the slow walk, getting bumped into by more then a few people. While evading some of the people that tried to intentinally bump into him so that he would fall to the ground, they despiced him for what he was. And he hated it, he had fled from home to escape being tormented by people, but he had only traded one for the many instead. Making his life even worse then what it had been before stowing away on a ship that would take him away from Tatooine, but even so, he was glad that he did it. It brought a small smile on his lips when he thought about it, making him loose his focus for a second or so. But that was more then enough for someone to 'bump' into him, and make it so that he fell into the railing head first. The world started spinning for a few seconds while he tried to regain his balance and stand up, but the result was the same and he just fell to the ground as he tried. Gritting his teeths Gabriel placed one hand on his head and the other on the ground, pushing himself up so that he was sitting up. But that was the only thing that he could do at the moment, the world was still spinning and he was seeing stars. It would take more then a few minutes before he would try and stand up, all while the people walking past him looked at him with contempt. Lowering his head he stared into the ground as tears started to form, he really hated it here.

 

[Cassanova]

After taking a moment to enjoy the sights, Juno refocused herself and parted ways with the stunning view. As she set herself on course up a main set of stairs she came to a small courtyard that led out to the open Bespin air. The cool breeze littered her face with the smells of the people, the industry, and god knows what else. However, a sudden change in the wind caught Juno's attention, as she had once before felt the sudden and warm change. Instantly a tingling sensation crept up her skin as she turned her head towards the origin of the breeze.

Moving faster now, however not appearing out of place, Juno had the walk of a business woman, late for a meeting of sorts. No one found her to be odd, or her behaviour unruly. She did, in fact, have a particularly singular goal at hand - find out what this disturbance was and where it was located. As Juno came to an intersection a quick study of her surrounds had her take a less-populated, but still busy route even higher into the city. Taking the steps three at a time, Juno's vibrant blue eyes darted across the crowd, and instinctively along the lower edges of the walls. Confused by the instinctive manoeuvre, Juno moved around the area until her eyes settled upon him.

Seeing the young boy slumped down near the stairwell, Juno got momentary glimpses of him through the crowd. She could see that he was distressed, possibly even a small amount of blood trickling down his forehead. Taking a moment to gather her focus and, through the Force, check on the boy, she ascertained that he was, for the most part, fine. This action, however, would have left a distinct trail, and if the boy had enough natural talent - he'd be able to follow it directly to Juno.

Across the way, Juno had nestled into a corner and connected her robe up, leaving no clue to her affiliations or weaponry. She did, however, keep her blue eyes affixed upon the boy.

 

[Nirvana]

Gabriel didn't react at first when he saw dripplets of blood falling on his legs where he sat, instead he just retrated his legs and wrapped his arms around them before resting his head against his knee's. Why did people have to be so sickening, spitefull, or unable to show some sort of compassion to those that was less fortunate then they were. Was there really no place in the galaxy where people actually set aside their own well being and actually cared about others, and tried to make it easier for those that needed help.

Sobbing he just sat there while people walked past him, not even looking at the boy that was sitting curled up by the railing. The galaxy was a heartless place where people only cared about themselves, and these people were exellent examples of it, not one of them even bothered to ask him what was wrong. Just because he was a street kid, someone that no one wanted to talk to or see at all.

A slight tingle or something made him stop sobbing and started to look around with wide eyes, searching for something. What was that? Gabriel thought to himself, it had been there for just a moment, but it had made him feel warmer for some reason that he coudln't explain. But it had also made him feel scared a bit and feeling as if he was being watched, yet at the same time it had had soothed him in way. All while people continued to walk by him, he just sat there searching with his eyes, trying to find or figure out what it had been that had caused the slight tingle.

 

[Cassanova]

Juno caught a glimpse of the young boy searching outwards, and smiled inwardly. The situation was either one of pure coincidence, or the boy sensed Juno's prodding. A relatively high innate and reflexive use of the Force - if only the boy knew exactly what he was capable of. Unmoving, Juno made certain to hold her stare with the boy, keeping up her comforting connection with the Force. Call it a little test, if you will.

The Jedi Master wanted to know exactly what the boy was capable of. And so she waited...

 

[Nirvana]

And there it was a again, the tingle from before that had made him stop sobbing, feeling warmer yet scared at the same time, the cause for why he was searching for something with his eyes. But it was a bit different this time, instead of it vanishing like before it continuesly came back to him every few seconds. Almost as if it wanted him to find who or what ever it was that made him feel this way, that made him stop searching for what the source was for a few seconds. Why would someone or something want him to find them? There was a thousand things that he could ask himself about it, but even so. There was something that keeping tugging at the back of his head, telling him to look for the source. Even if he didn't want to admit it, he wanted to find out what it was. Because this had been the first time in years that he had felt as if someone or something wanted him to feel better.

Gabriel shook his head for a few seconds and scratched his head a more then a few times, making his already messsy hair even messier then it had been before. After he had scratched his head he sighed, and stood up and started to look for what it was that was sending what ever it was that made him feel warmer.

To say that he found the source in a matter of minutes would be a lie for sure, but it didn't take him as long as he thought it would. As he searched around he thought he saw a pair of blue piercing eyes looking at him directly, it made him feel scared a bit when he realized that he had been watched by whom those eyes belonged to. Strangely as it may have seemed, seeing the eyes of the person somehow made him feel a bit safer then before. But it took a minute or so before he actually managed to gather the courage to walk over to the person.

Even if it was only about ten meters to where the person stood it felt more then the few seconds it took for him to walk over to the person, avoiding to get pushed to the ground once more by the people who went the opposite way that he was heading. Once he reached the person whom the eyes belonged to he look first down into the ground for a few seconds before he raised his head so that he would look the person in the eyes, at first he didn't even dare to say anything as he watched her even if he tried to more then a few times. Bitting himself in the lower lip a few seconds later he sighed and closed his eyes for a few seconds, before deciding to try again. Opening his eyes he looked up again, this time he felt more courage then before, and asked her.”Who are you?” Gabriel thought he sounded brave at least, but that was definetly not the case, in reality he had stammered as he asked her who she was.

 

[Cassanova]

Smiling at the boy - well, really a young man - Juno smiled and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, "My name is Juno Armstrong. I'm a Jedi Master."

Gently guiding Gabriel out of the barrage that was seemingly peak-hour pedestrian traffic and settled him into the same spacious nook that somehow had been omitted by the bustle of Cloud City, Juno continued softly. Such conversations were remarkably difficult without sounding like an entire head-case, so Juno needed to choose her words with appropriate caution. "Before I tell you why I called you over, allow me to explain who I am and what I do."

"I am one of the Jedi who specialise in combat, a Guardian. We are the ones who do a great deal of work on the front lines of the war," she dismissed the topic with a wave of her hand, "I was here escorting an Alliance patrol to their barracks, and on my way back to my ship I noted your distress. Before I explain why I was able to hone in on you like I did, tell me what you know about the Force."

 

[Nirvana]

When she smiled at him he smiled a bit himself, not the heartful smile it seemed like she was giving him. The tense feeling in his gut after having gatherd courage to walk up and talk to her, started to settle down once she had placed her hand on his shoulder. And then when she had hold him her name he smiled more cheerful then before, but then when she told him that she was a Jedi Master he just looked up at her with a doumbfound look on his face. Did she really say she was a jedi? He thought and looked at her with big eyes and a open mouth for a few seconds, before closing it after realising that he had been staring at her like a idiot. It made him blush a bit, feeling a bit embarased that he had reacted in that way.

That she lead him away from the street made him worry a bit though, it was strange that it made him worry to be away from the crowd of people that didn't want to even see him. But it was home to him.

A jedi that specialises in combat, wasn't the jedi suppose to protect people and not hurt people.”No.” Gabriel almost shouted.”You can't hurt people, it's not good to hurt other people.” he said after a few seconds with a sad expression on his face, if she just looked at him she should be able to undertand that he didn't want or liked hearing about people hurting other people.

The question she then asked him what he knew about the force he just opened his mouth trying to say something, but closed it when he realized that he didn't say anything. He had heard some stories about jedi while he had preform tricks and gambled money from people, but he had never really thought much about it. He was almost shameful to say that he didn't know anything about it, but it was the truth. The little thing he knew about it was that it was something that you couldn't see, but it was something that made the jedi able to preform great feats. Or so he had heard at least.”It's something that you can't see, but it's there and it help you do amazing thing.” he said with a low voice.

 

[Cassanova]

Juno smiled, "You're right, its not good to hurt people. Thats why my job is to stop the fighting. I do everything in my power to see that it happens without anyone getting hurt." Truthfully it comforted Juno to know that this teenager had a solid, if naïve, notion of the preservation of life - perhaps there was hope for him, yet. Despite the young boy's failed efforts at organising his brain and mouth to work coherently together, Juno kept her tongue and let him take his time, never wavering in her patience.

His response was beautiful in its simplicity, and Juno merely nodded in agreement, "Thats about right. The Jedi are capable of harnessing the Force to achieve great things. Now, an important fact is that before undergoing their training, all Jedi are just people before hand. People like yourself, for example."

This was where the crazy-sounding part usually kicked in, so Juno attempted to tread carefully."See, Jedi are merely people who are more sensitive, or attuned to the Force. We become Jedi through training and practice. I have a feeling that you, just maybe, will have what it takes to become one of us."

 

[Nirvana]

Gabriel just blinked a few times when she said that it was her job to stop the fighting, so she was hurting people to make them stop hurting other people? But wasn't that still wrong, why did one have to hurt another to make them stop hurting another person. Still, in a way it did make some sense in the way she put it – which made him start biting his lower lip as he thought about it.

All jedi was just normal people until they undervent their training? Did that mean that perhaps he could become one as well – not sure how he would think about it, he looked around for a few seconds as he thought about it. But what did the jedi really do? Did they do what Juno had told him, that they hurt other people to stop other from hurting more people, or did they do something else. A small wave of uneasiness came to whem when he though about it, and thought about the little Bah'lir cub that he was taking care of. What would happen to her if he was gone, thinking about it made him feel even more unsecure then before and he started to squirm as he thought about it.

Wait what? He thought when he heard what she said soon after, that he just maybe had what it took to become a jedi, it made him just look at her – more like stare at her for several seconds, before even starting to try and forumlate a word. But it was little more then gibberish that was heard from him, making him blush even more at his inability to form words all of a sudden.

 

[Cassanova]

The Jedi Master merely smiled at him, "Listen. I know its a lot to take in at this point, and I'm more than happy to answer any questions you have about the Jedi Order, me as a Jedi, our training, or what happens if you say yes, and what happens if you say no to my offer."

After a momentary assessment, Juno realised the boy wasn't quite ready to talk as yet, so she gently guided Gabriel into the flow of pedestrian traffic, carefully keeping him moving with the crowds so he was able to move easily, without being bumped by any fellow pedestrians. "I won't lie to you, my young friend, but being a Jedi is not always a fun lifestyle. It is, however, very rewarding. The Order's members have become a family to me. I look after them, they look after me. We work together to achieve our goals of securing peace and protection for the galaxy. Admittedly thats where it is hard, as we cannot look after the entire galaxy by ourselves, we are sometimes forced into conflicts."

The crowds seemed to just keep moving in a circle around a main hub of this quadrant of the city. As such, Juno merely kept them moving as she talked, making sure that the boy was somewhere familiar, and giving him time to recover. "These conflicts happen due to diplomatic negotiations that fail. When two groups of people are angry enough, they start fighting and no amount of talking will stop them…" Juno sighed, knowing that this was her duty as a Guardian. "That is where I come in. I am sent in to stop those parties from fighting. Sometimes, I need to fight myself, but with the training I've had, I am able to win a fight without causing any damage to my opponent." Juno passed a concerned look to the young man and continued, "No one gets hurt this way…"

 

[Nirvana]

A lot to take in? That was something he wouldn't even try and deny, it was no point in even trying to deny that it was a lot to take in. During his entier life he had been looked down upon with utter compemt and failure, just because he was a street kid. No one even thinking that he would be able to do anything with his life, and yet now a jedi had told him that he could become a jedi. That was definetly a lot to take in.

Gabriel didn't notice at first how they were back on the street again, which made him flinh for a bit before realising that she wasn't going to leave him in the middle of the street, and it made him feel safe. Not living a fun life was something he was use to, even if he found it sorta funny to entertain the smaller kids that looked at his shows.

He looked up at her when she mentioned how the jedi order had become like family for her, they took care of each other - something that his father hadn't. Sometimes forced into conflicts, when she said it Gabriel just whimpered a bit at the memory of the fights that his mom and dad had sometimes. He always hid under his bed for hours to try and feel safe, but even then he didn't – and even less when his mother had died. But it still made him feel uneasy when she spoke about fighting, it should be clear that he didn't like it at all. Even so, he felt safer after hearing that she could manage to not hurt anyone and still stop the fight. “You promise?” he asked her, he really wanted that part to be true. For the fightign to stop without anyone getting hurt.

 

[Cassanova]

Juno grimaced inwardly, but her face kept level and unchanged. "I can't lie to you. I don't want to…" she sighed and gently guided Gabriel out of the way of an oncoming pedestrian and settled him back onto his former path with extraordinary grace. "That being said, there are some fights in which I've no choice. People get hurt in fights, and not every fight is easy to predict, or fast to end. I've lost friends in battle before, and I've been forced to take lives before also…" She paused, sincere with regret, she continued, "… I'm not proud of doing that, and I beg that my actions in the future will make those deaths worth something."

Struggling to bring herself to a positive on the topic, Juno perked the conversation up on the backs of her achievements, "I've saved more lives in combat situations than I've taken. This much I'm certain. And the lives of the innocents who are now safe as a result of that sacrifice…"

A weight-laden sigh escaped Juno's mouth as she watched Gabriel, dodging pedestrians with ease, without looking it seemed, "I've no place deciding the fate of another being, and I know this too well… I guess… I don't have a good explanation, my young friend. Sometimes people give you no choice. It's my job to save as many as I can… To make a difference…" turning the conversation back to him, "You could make a difference too, you know?"

 

[Nirvana]

Couldn't lie to him and didn't want to? Why was it that she couldn't lie to him – and what was it that she didn't want to do? He wanted to know, he needed to know to feel safe. For the first time in years he had actually felt safe around another person, and now when she said something like that it made him feel unsafe – it made him feel scared again. ”There is always a choice.” Gabriel told her when she had just said that sometimes, she didn't have a choice. He thought she was wrong, there was always a choice you could make.

When she told him that she had taken lives, he moved away from her and her arm. Baking uup against the railing, shaking his head. No no no no, he didn't want to hear it – he didn't want to see or hear any of it. When Gabriel hit the railing he sank down, and placed his hands on his head while closing his eyes – shaking his head as he was trying to get the pictures out of his head.”Make it stop.” he said with a whimpering voice, he didn't want to remember it.

 

[Cassanova]

Juno frowned as the 17 year old boy slumped against the railing. Juno made a point of sprawling her robe on the ground so that people would avoid them. One thing that civilised folk never did was step on a woman's cloak. Capitalising on this gave the Jedi Master the space she needed to talk to the boy, "I can't expect you to understand just yet, but the choice isn't as simple as take a life or to avoid the combat. My inaction could prove to be worse for the people I'm trying to protect. If I stand by and refuse to take up arms to defend others, the oppressors take advantage of that and do as they please. My choice is to take up arms, or to stand back and watch innocent people die. I'll take up arms, but I'll do what I can to save lives."

It was time to lay it down to the young man, Juno knew that she couldn't coddle him for much longer, "Let's not forget that not all Jedi follow the same course as I do. We have our healers and historians, our scientists and technicians. We each do our parts. If you come with me, I can show you, in time, that the Jedi - all of us - are working towards saving lives and protecting the innocent."

Juno stood up proudly, and decided that this was the moment that the boy would have to make a crucial decision. The Jedi Master extended her arm to the young boy and offered her hand to help him up, "You can come with me and make a difference, or you can stay here," she shrugged, "You may get a second chance if another Jedi passes through here one day, but Bespin is peaceful, and has no need of Jedi here. So what's it going to be?"

"The choice is yours."

 

[Nirvana]

Unnderstand just yet? How could he understand why someone would take another persons life, it was wrong on so many levels. Protect, that word alone made him stop shaking his head. She did it to protect others didn't she, she said so before and that she didn't want to hurt another person. To save people from those who couldn't protect themsevles, in a way it made sense to him – but he still didn't want anyone to get hurt.

He calmed down more and more as she spoke about how not all jedi followed the same course that she did, that there was other things that he could become. As he continued to listen to her words, and slowly removed his hands from his head and came to look at her again – why did life have to be so strange.

As Juno stood up he lowered his head for a bit, still unsure of what he was going to do. But when he heard her say that he could make a difference, he looked up again. Then fized his eyes on the hand that she extended, at first when he reached for her hand he was hesitent and retracted his hand for a moment. But soon after he extended it again and grabbed her hand, he wanted to stop the suffering of other people.”I'll do it, I'll make a difference.” Gabriel said.

 

[Cassanova]

Juno smiled and dusted some dust off the teenager's shoulder and gently guided him to face her. "Right. Three things," she held up her fingers as she listed them, "One, you need to tell me your name. Two, is there anybody who we need to tell that you're coming with me? And third, I think you need some food before we leave… We've got a long way to go…"

She gently ushered Gabriel into the flow of pedestrians and set them on course for one of the public food courts that were nearby. Juno, forever watchful, ensured no one bumped into the boy and that she was always at arms reach if need be. She had no doubt that this decision would shock himself, especially once the gravity of it had set in. The last thing she wanted was for him to change his mind once they were in hyperspace and have to come back to drop him off again. Juno set herself to the task of making sure Gabriel was to become a Jedi or at the very least, make sure he got a decent meal.

 

[Nirvana]

When she dusted of his shoulder he just smiled a bit, and listend to what she said. He really was going to do it, make a difference in the galaxy. Even if he had only just accepted it, it actually felt good – something that he couldn't really explain, but he felt as if he had made the right choice deep down in his gut.”Gabriel Sicarius.” he answered her question about his name.”Not anybody to tell, but one to bring with me.” he wouldn't leave the Bha'lir cub by istelf here on Could City, it was his friend that he had freed from a smuggler that had kept her in a small cage in one of the many cargo holds.

When she said he needed some food he blushed a bit for some reason, it was deffinetly true that he needed some food. Eating properly wasn't something that he could do with the little money he managed to get by every day, definetly not. Stoping in his tracks he turned around to face Juno as he realized he hadn't told her who he would be bringing.”It's not a person if you are wondering who I'm going to bring, it's a Bha'lir cub.”

 

[Cassanova]

Juno merely smiled, "No worries. We'll look after the cub just fine - as long as you don't mind flying with it on your lap."

Chuckling, Juno guided Gabriel up towards one of the café's and ordered two meals, nothing particularly grand, but nutritious and tasty. Motioning to a pair of seats next to a table she moved in and sat down, and poured a glass of water for the teenager and then a second for herself. Taking a sip as she settled into the chair, Juno suddenly snapped her fingers, "Right, remind me that we swing by the exotic pets place once we pick up the cub. We'll need to get it registered before we leave and make sure we have food and water for it."

Just as Juno finished making the point about the legality of transporting a Bha'lir cub across planetary lines, the waitress delivered their plates of food to them. Juno took a moment and ensured she was into her food first, just to help Gabriel overcome any nervousness he may have had about eating his food. After ensuring Gabriel had had at least half a plate of food, Juno then offered some more information, "Now. We're going to be travelling along one of the major hyperspace routes all the way through to Coruscant - the center of the Alliance. Once we're there, we're going to dock with the Jedi flagship, the Light of the Force. That is where I live, and where I can present you to a Councillor for acceptance to the Jedi Order. Once all that happens, we'll set you up with some clean clothes, a place to sleep, meals, and anything else you need. And then…" Juno smiled as she placed another spoonful of the nondescript foodstuffs into her mouth and swallowed it gracefully, "…and then you'll begin your training."