A Chance Encounter

[Casmer]

Kithiac sped down the dirt road on a speeder bike he could barely control, wanting to put many kilometers between himself and the stronghold. A full year had passed since the trials. His clanmates were gone, off to learn and live the life of a Jedi apprentice. To be mentored, groomed, prepared for the multitude of situation and decision a Jedi will encounter. He was still here, though, helping out at the stronghold while each new day made it more apparent to him and his brothers and sisters within the order that he would remain an initiate. A gush of wind blew Kithiac's hood from his pate, and the curly locks of black hair whipped his face and drew arbitrary patterns in the streams of tears coating his cheeks. Yet another day for Dantooine's finest, he thought and wiped the tears angrily from his face. Of the few who had not been picked for tutelage, most were slowly contenting themselves with their functions in the Service Corps. Only a select few lingered... hoped. But even Kithiac, being the first among them, was beginning to question his own resolve.

The cliffs on which the Jedi stronghold was built were shrinking behind him, and the crude, stony landscape was replaced by stretches of fields in a variety of color that heartened the young Zelosian. Confined within the stronghold walls, he felt trapped, secluded. Although he was not alone, he was still alone. Isolated in his bond with the nature and the great grief it caused him. No master had been prepared to take on one so blatantly angry as Kithiac. Instead, they had walked past him and chosen another, content that the Service Corps would fit a Jedi of his temper better. In the great thundering cauldron of war that the Jedi were in, there was no room for the unreliable.

Kithiac veered down a road that let to a small farmhouse, slowed the speeder and powered it off. Around him, the farm folk were working the fields. Safe the wind and the somewhat pleasant song of one of the farmhands, it was quiet. Kithiac sat back on the seat and drew a mouthful of air, lavishing it. The air was vibrant with the energies of wheat and rye, cabbage and corn. It beckoned to him in a way that no other living entity did, soothing and yet demoralizing. This is how it should be, he thought as he dismounted the bike and walked along the road. On this planet, sentients are in harmony with the ecology, safeguarding the nature not out of economic necessity but out of respect. It stood in sharp contrast to the defilement of Tython at the hands of the Empire five years ago. So much life snuffed out in an instant. So much waste. Kithiac felt the pain of it lingering, not only in himself, but in the very nature of the galaxy. Plants, even on so distant a world as Dantooine, were mourning.

Was that why he had not been chosen by a master? Because he cared? Because he grieved and did not forget, did not falter in his resolve to right what had been wronged? Kithiac picked up a stone and threw it into the sea of wheat, earning a look from one of the farmhands. He seated himself on a boulder that lay in the ditch by the road. He would not enroll in the Service Corps, should a master fail to materialize. He could not so blatantly ignore what had happened on Tython. If his brothers and sisters in the Order would not allow him to participate, he would strike out on his own. But the thought scared him. He had been with the Jedi for as long as he could remember. He knew no other life.

Would that it would not come to that.

@Tsunami

 

[Tsunami]

Phoenix had yet to enter the temple on Dantooine, it was the new home of the Jedi but somehow it didn't feel as such. She had long come to terms with what had happened on Tython, but that didn't make it any less real or any less painful of a memory. For the last week Phoenix has been on Dantooine she had been sleeping in the open out doors, moving from spot to spot and just getting her bearings on the general environment that she would eventually come to call home.

As she hit the peak of a cliff side, she looked down to see a small farm, pleasant and quaint in appearance with hard working farmhands seeing to the upkeep of the place. Ruining the view however was a speeder, and mounted atop of it, a youngish looking boy who's hood had recently fallen from his previously shrouded face. She did not recognise him, but could only assume that he was a worker and for that reason dwindled on his presence no longer.

Phoenix waited for but a moment before summoning the force from around here, channelling it into the muscles that controlled her legs in an attempt to increase her speed. Seconds later she sprang from the cliff face, making her way down to the farm in hopes to source some much needed supplies such as water and food. She could certainly use it after the miles she had put into her legs in the last few days especially amidst her training regime.

@Casmer

 

[Casmer]

Something interrupted Kithiac in his brooding. He sensed a sudden updrift in the Force around him, distinctly non-botanical in its origin. So I was followed, he thought ruefully. He had friends among the guards and custodians of the stronghold, but he put strain on his friendships these past weeks. Perhaps the guards pitied him, perhaps they enjoyed his company. Either way, they had ignored many of his little outbursts these past weeks, but this might just have tipped the scales against him. "The speeder was property of the Order and more importantly a vehicle off limits for one of Kithiac's age and rank," he recalled the beratement of Instructor Da'bael. He would be assigned maintenance duty for a month!

Kithiac saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked towards the farmhouse and witnessed a woman in free fall from the overlooking cliff. In an instant, and almost out of reflex, Kithiac leapt to his feet, gathering the Force around him in a futile attempt to aid the woman, but an instant later she landed gracefully on her feet. The Zelosian berated himself silently, knowing full well that he was neither strong enough nor close enough to the woman for him to lessen the impact of a fall from that height. He did not recognize the woman, but her presence in the Force revealed her as a Jedi. Perhaps stationed at the stronghold as well? Kithiac thought it implausible that she had been sent by the stronghold guards; after four years in the stronghold had, Kithiac was convinced that he knew everyone worth knowing.

The woman walked towards the farmhouse, seemingly unaware of his presence. Kithiac almost decided to make a run for it while she was preoccupied, but he quelled the thought. One so strong in the Force would probably be fully aware of her surroundings, and besides, she had jumped from a cliff from where both Kithiac and his speeder was highly visible. Kithiac knew that, at least in harmonious environments such as this, he'd definitely notice such a piece of unshapely metal and whoever was to blame for its presence. Besides, the woman intrigued him. The patterns she drew in the Force were undeniably fresh to him, so complex compared to most of the strongholds regulars. Were she in fact sent by the stronghold, then he was already in trouble. He had nothing to lose. And so he walked towards her.

 

[Tsunami]

Phoenix had continued walking down towards the farmhouse when she noticed the mysterious figure walking towards her. "Aaandd who might this be..." She thought to herself as she now made a b-line towards the man. Looking past him, she noticed the speeder that he had rode in on. She might not have been to the temple yet or explored the entirety of Dantooine, but in all her travels across the galaxy thus far never had she seen someone so young ride or own a speeder.

She couldn't help think that there was more to the boy than met the eye and it was certainly intriguing how he obtained the speeder. She could also feel the force orbiting the boy, he was clearly force sensitive, but how powerful? One could not be sure at his age. All she could do was assume that the boy was a Jedi and as she got within 5 meters of the boy she spoke.

"I don't think that the speeder is yours... Is it."

 

[Casmer]

On his way over to the woman, Kithiac had thought through his options. He could assume that she was sent by the stronghold, in which case he had an opening statement prepared, relying on youthful yet confrontational prose to take the woman by surprise. He could also assume that she had no connection to the stronghold at all, in which case he had not other reason to approach her than sheer curiosity. Which, perhaps, might be even more daunting than the former. Before he had decided what to do, however, the woman spoke.

Entirely out of reflex, and possibly out of genuine interest, Kithiac said "Who's asking?" No sooner had he uttered the words than he regretted it. Besides posing a athletic figure, her presence in the Force was imposing. The young Zelosian thought about apologizing for his blunt words, but decided against it. The woman did not seem like the type to condone irresolute behavior, and in any case the words had already been uttered. Were she indeed sent by the stronghold, Kithiac decided he would not simply yield.

 

[Tsunami]

The balls on the kid, to question a warrior clad in her battle armour so thoughtlessly. She could have been anyone and it was strange to her that he had seemingly showed total disregard for the situation he was in. It was fool hardy and it was not uncommon for Sith to stray and wander into Jedi territory, impersonating them or worse going on a mindless rampage.

The entire time she was thinking this, she had been summoning a almost unnoticeable concentration of the force. Her mind clear and focused, she did not wish to harm the boy. Merely teach him that there was an order to things, and that he was bellow her in the pecking order. Phoenix wasn't like other Jedi, she was a realist and a soldier, and while what she fought for may been good and honourable, she did not have to be!

Swinging her hand sideways, as if to quickly draw curtains, she manipulated the force into a push that was aimed to buckle the young boys knee and sending him to the ground. Although she scoffed at the boy during this moment, she did not utter a word, but waited to see the boys reaction if the attempt at tripping him over was a success.

 

[Casmer]

Kithiac found it odd that the woman did not rebuke his question. He thought that she might not have heard him, but his ignorance lasted only a moment. Intuiting that something was amiss, he dipped into the Force and felt it drawn towards the woman like water streaming into a depression. He realized what was happening and tried to steady himself with the Force, but to no avail. The woman released a wave of energy that knocked the wind out of the Zelosian and threw him unto his back, which decompressed his lungs entirely. Granted, the oxygen his cells were producing made breathing through his mouth and nose more or less redundant, but the intense feeling of being winded that accompanied the rough landing still made him gasp for air.

For a few seconds, he lay still on the dirt road, forcing himself to breathe. Then he sat up slowly, brushing down his olive surcoat. "That hurt," he said, not to anyone in particular. He risked another blow and prodded her through the Force, searching for what he assumed would be telltale signs of malignant intent, but he found nothing of the sort. Still, her attunement to the Force was staggering to him, and so he retracted himself to the mundane, stumbling to his feet.

"It is property of the Jedi Order," he said, gesturing the speeder. "I know the custodian overseeing the vehicles at the stronghold."

 

[Tsunami]

As expected the boy tumbled and fell, and it had seemingly winded him. Phoenix had stopped now, about three meters away from him, her golden armour catching the light for but a moment before the sun was hidden by a cloud. She listened to the boy speak, but sensed that he wasn't giving her the full story... Either that he wasn't telling her the truth.

"So if we were to take that speeder back to the order... I would assume someone would vouch for you then? Would they not?" She had decided to call the boys bluff. Either way she was going to end up and the Jedi Temple anyway and taking this boy back would save her money on supplies anyway. With the last of the force she had summoned into her palms, she rolled her fingers, beckoning over a small fruit from a crate stacked against the side of the farmhouse.

The interactions between the two had caught the attention of some of the farm hands, who continued to work but stopped every now and then to look over at the pair.

 

[Casmer]

The Zelosian brushed dust off his robe and put on a defiant look. Momentarily, he rued his decision to approach the woman. If she kept pressing him on the origins of the speeder, he'd be forced to admit that he had taken it without permission, in which case she would probably turn him over to the custodian. As rueful as he was, however, his interest in the woman had not subceded. She was unlike the Force sensitives Kithiac was used to being around. And her gear was alien to him.

"Let's make a deal: I'll tell you the truth about the speeder if you tell me about your armor. It's not very... well, Jedi, is it?"

 

[Tsunami]

As she listened to him, she took a bite out of the fruit. It was succulent and juicy just as she imagined it would be. She didn't pay my attention to the boys body language, he was clearly still young, untamed and untrained. He had yet to learn his place in the world and that kind of pride would get a person killed, or worse it would turn them to the dark side.

Kithiac had begun to speak "Lets make a deal: I'll tell you the truth about the speeder if you..." - Phoenix cut him off mid sentence. "If?" she muttered, her voice quiet and stern now, her eyes fixating on the boys. "It was not a request, but an instruction or an order if you will. You may not know me, but i have known many like you." For a moment she paused, the fire in her eyes quelled as quickly as it came, and she continued to eat her fruit.

She walked towards the boy again, her aim being to take a look at the speeder herself, in the event the boy didn't want to talk again.

@Casmer

 

[Casmer]

Kithiac let the woman brush past him, truly regretting his initial curiousness. She seemed determined to learn the truth about the speeder, although why he did not know. She was clearly not from the stronghold, but somehow Kithiac sensed that she wanted... what? Justice or truthfulness? For an incident that she was in no way invested in? It was difficult for him to comprehend.

When she was a few meters past him, he turned towards her. "I took it," he said, eyes fixating on the her. "I had to get out of there."

 

[Tsunami]

Phoenix stopped before she got to the speeder, the moment the boy had gotten some integrity about him. "Now that... was an honest answer." she said, he voice less stern now and more humble. "We will decide what to do with the speeder later. For now I'd like to know some more about why you had to get out of there."

Waving her hand once more she summoned the force into her palms. Her eyes closed as she dragged from within the farmhouse two simple wooden chairs, and a small table. The farm owner came rushing out but before he could speak Phoenix acknowledged him "Apologies, but this is Jedi business. If you could provide me and my friend here something to quench our thirst and something to settle our stomachs, I will happily pay you for your time." Phoenix nodded knowingly to the farmer, and after a momentary pause he went inside.

"So tell me boy. Why did you have to leave?"

@Casmer

 

[Casmer]

Kithiac leaned on the backrest of the chair for a moment. He felt stupid. He felt stagnant. As if his life cycle had skipped its main phase and had decided to root him to the ground even before his life had truly begun. It was one of the few things he knew about his species, and it terrified him. Rooted in place, withering physically and mentally until you slowly lost your mind. Old age, it seemed, would be particularly cruel to him. It was suffocating, and he couldn't help but feel that his current terms were no less asphyxiating. Whenever he meditated, he emerged in surety of where he fit in the Force. He would fight for the cause that no one else fought for. For the beings most desperately in need of aid. But how could he, when the Force had stranded him in limbo?

"Why did you have to leave?"

The young Zelosian slid down unto the seat of the chair, hands cupped on the table. He looked at the woman, at one time so violently present in the Force, now with almost a mildness to her face. Could he tell her? Would she understand? Or would she shy away from his pride, if you could truly call it that, as so many had done before her? He fixated a stray black curl behind his ear. Then again, she was a stranger and knew nothing about him. Perhaps she would understand?

"I'll have to enroll in the Service Corps," he muttered under his breath, as if the strength of his articulation was all that kept it from coming true.

 

[Tsunami]

She could see that whatever the problem was, it troubled the boy and having dealt with her fair share of troubles in the past there was a slight sympathy she felt for him. Finally he spoke - "I'll have to enroll in the Service Corps," Phoenix let out a small sigh, in the grand scheme of galactic events joining the Service Corps wasn't the end of the world, it was just something that happened to certain people and maybe that was the path that had been laid out before him.

Although... there were no coincidences in the force, and perhaps it was no coincidence that the two of them had crossed paths at this important part of the young boys life either.

"Why does that scare you, make you act the way you have? There are worse things in this galaxy than the Service Corps" She paused but a moment before continuing "And how do you think your actions have helped your situation. Have they made you step closer to your goal, or take another step down the path you do not wish to go?"

Waiting for a reply she took her lightsaber hilt from her belt and placed it on the table they were sat at. Crossed her legs and clicked her knuckles. It might look like a display of aggression to the boy but it was merely Phoenix getting comfortable.


@Casmer

 

[Casmer]

Kithiac eyed the hilt greedily, but felt a stab of shame in doing so. There was certainly more than a lightsaber to being a Jedi, but he did see it as a symbol of adulthood and achievement. He knew, however, that he was not yet worthy, that his thoughts were glazed with emotions that belonged not to a Jedi, but to someone more sinister. But he just couldn't help having those emotions. Shameful, he looked away and focused on the question put forward by the woman.

"It is not that I see no worth in the Service Corps. It's that I know that I cannot do what the Force asks of me from among their ranks."

"And how do to think you actions have helped your situation? Have they made you step closer to your goal?"

Kithiac dared to look at the woman. She seemed preoccupied, but Kithiac knew that she waited for a reply. He looked beyond her, at the farmhouse, the cliffs, the wide fields of wheat and rye. "No," he said, "they haven't brought me closer to anything other than beratement by the custodians and more supplementary work at the stronghold. All it'll do is drag out the time."

 

[Tsunami]

The reply was interesting, interesting indeed. The boy simply had a purpose and it was clearly one that he held dear to his heart. Phoenix struggled to comprehend however how if he knew his actions would hinder him, why he would continue down the path he did. Stealing and lying only looked bad on him from all those who looked in at the boy, not just those who were his trainers.

"So the force calls to you. Interesting. Do the masters here on Dantooine not nurture that desire?" Phoenix questioned, not knowing the full extent of those Jedi who survived the destruction of Tython, nor knowing those which resided in the temple on Dantooine. If she was to fully understand the issues that resided within the boys residency at the temple here, she would have to take him there herself.

Standing up she motioned him to walk with her, towards the speeder as she awaited his reply. They would ride the speeder back to her ship where the two of them would make haste to the temple.

@Casmer

 

[Casmer]

"They believe it is grounded in emotion unfit for a Jedi," Kithiac replied, dismissive gestures endorsing his dissatisfaction. "I'm convinced that they think I'm too attached to my belief, too political, perhaps." He rose with the woman and fell in with her strides. "I don't think my instructors have recommended that I remain without a master, but the knights who assessed me never allowed me to explain myself before they sidelined me."

Kithiac felt reassured by the woman. She listened without judgement, something which was rare among Jedi. He did not hold the notion that she could alter his situation, but it felt nice to talk to an adult member of his order without feeling ashamed. And somehow he could not escape a sense that their meeting had not been entirely coincidental.

 

[Tsunami]

Phoenix looked at the boy as they walked and spoke, swinging her leg over the speeder as they arrived at it before she beckoned the boy to get on the back. "I can maybe understand your frustrations with not being allowed to explain. The Order is a strange one and it endorses a specific way of thinking..." She hit the ignition switch to the speeder as soon as the boy was on the back. "Not that what you believe is wrong, just that what you want may not marry up with what the Jedi require from you now. You must understand that your first responsibility is to the Jedi Order and your own personal pursuits must come after that."

Phoenix knew that this wasn't an aspect that a young boy may understand. Despite the training provided from a young age to the children of the order, youths are arbitrarily selfish and sometimes believed that what they wanted was the most important thing. "If you want to change the galaxy, you have to do it one step at a time. You are seeing your goal as the summit of a mountain. What you fail to see is the mountain my boy." The speeder ready and raring to go, Phoenix directed it the way of her ship, and accelerated them on their way.

@Casmer

 

[Casmer]

"I understand," Kithiac answered. "I think."

He swung his leg over the speeder and grabbed the safety handles firmly. The engine soon came alive. The Zelosian listened carefully to the woman's words. It made sense, he knew. Ultimately, the needs of the order had to come before Kithiac's own agenda. He knew it, even if sometimes he did not agree with the priorities of the Order. But he still had trouble understanding why the Order's fear of emotion had become so all-engulfing that they did not see the difference between anger as a raw emotion and anger as an emotional tool. Kithiac's connection to non-sentient plants made him share in their emotions - of which they were full, given the monstrosities committed against them on a daily basis. He did not condone his emotions, he did not use it, but they were there nonetheless. And how would he ever learn to look past them without a mentor?

Kithiac was half a mind to tell the woman as much when the speeder took off, unabling conversation. He settled in, deciding that he could use the pause to gather his thoughts.

@Tsunami

 

[Tsunami]

No More That Forty Five Minutes Later​

"Here we are." Phoenix stated if it wasn't obvious enough. "So have you thought about what I said?" She asked, intrigued to know exactly what her words had meant to him. She could see he obviously had no guidance and that was always going to be an issue.

Continuing on with what she had to do to get the ship up and running she climbed into the cockpit, and began flicking several dials and switches. Checking the various instruments and dials before looking down at the boy ready to reply to whatever it was he decided to say.