Ask Broken Jedi

Vinry Forge

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Wit
Joined
Feb 18, 2020
Messages
98
Reaction score
77
8ypjx9g.jpg

Jedi Temple, Yavin IV

It had been a day since Vinry's return to Yavin IV, barely enough time to have recovered from her injuries and yet here she was sneaking out of the medical ward and roaming the forest behind the Temple. The other survivors of Ajan Kloss, the two padawans she had failed to protect, were also in the medical ward, and looking at them was a constant reminder of her failures. Even more than the missing arm, the scars that ran across her body from the lightning attack, and the constant pain she was still feeling. The pain wasn't just physical, it was in her very soul. Many things had happened on Ajan Kloss that had left her shaken, and she needed time to process it all.

She had thought that she needed to get out of the Temple, away from everyone. To get some much needed the fresh air, and some time with herself. But now that she was here, she was alone with her thoughts and nothing to distract her. And that terrified her even more. She remembered, the figure towering over her, the armor, the strength. All of it. And it was too much. She let out a scream and dropped to her knees, her one hand reaching up to grab her throbbing head.

She wasn't ready to face it, she wasn't ready to face any of it.

@Nefieslab
 
Last edited:

Maxims Tionson

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Council

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Nefieslab
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
839
Reaction score
380


Max had returned from his own journey to Ajan Kloss not too long ago and but it had still been a day since the Padawans had returned from their OWN expedition to Ajan Kloss. He had been en route to the planet while they were there, while they were suffering, and it rankled that he hadn't been fast enough to help them. Honestly, he hadn't been heading to Ajan Kloss because of the Padawans and their hubris but rather to see what he could do about the taint that had spread there himself.

He had thought it obvious, clear even, that going to Ajan Kloss was something beyond the power and responsibility of Padawans who were barely trained. Max himself had undertaken the trip to purify Ajan Kloss with the knowledge that it was an action that could very well kill him and he was a Jedi Master fully grown and trained, experienced for decades at this point.

But he returned to Yavin after his own experiences on Ajan Kloss, tired beyond belief, and been informed of the Padawan's excursion via holo on the way down. The withering curse that the protector of the nexus had cast on his left hand had spread further up his forearm than he had expected and he had made the decision aboard the return flight with Alex to do what was required to ensure it could spread no further. With help from the onboard medical equipment as well as Alex's lightsaber, Max had finished the sacrifice and cut his left arm off at the shoulder.

It hurt and he had been told he needed to go to the medical bay as quickly as possible but he didn't. Instead he left the ship and went for a walk into the jungle surrounding the Temple. He could have passed it off as following the Force but he didn't need to lie to himself - he thought he heard someone scream so he started walking.

Probably said something about him that he was exhausted both mentally and physically, newly maimed and all but tapped out when it came to the Force and the first thing he did was follow a scream because someone might need his help. And turned out? He was right but not in the way he expected.

"Vinry."


He called out to her as he approached, probably looking like a terrible sight. His left arm gone at the shoulder, his sleeve pinned up to that same shoulder, his robes tattered, turn, burnt and exposing several open cuts and slashes. And he didn't care for any of it, instead moving to kneel down in front of Vinry, placing his good hand gently on her shoulder.

"Vinry... it's alright."
he whispered quietly, his voice strained and rough, "I'm here for you if you need me."

And he would be - no matter how long it took, he would stay kneeling with her until she was ready.


@Wit
 

Vinry Forge

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Wit
Joined
Feb 18, 2020
Messages
98
Reaction score
77
She didn't hear Max approach, didn't even hear his words, it was only when she felt the touch on her shoulder that she was pulled back to reality. Breath coming in strained bursts, panting as if she had just run a marathon, she could barely make out the face in front of her even though he was close enough to touch. A haze covered her sight, fear and fatigue clouding her vision. She shut her eyes again, and it took all of her training and self-control to fight the terror that threatened to grip at her.

It was a moment before she opened her eyes again, seeing slightly more clearly now. The figure in front of her came into focus now, and when she realized who it was, relief came to her rescue. He knew his face, knew who he was. A Master, a member of the Council. She had to warn him. "I..I think I had a vis.." She had barely begun speaking when she noticed his arm, and paused to take in the state of him. Guilt washed over her, and what kindness could not shame accomplished. "What happened? You need a doctor!" She was certain that the last time she had seen him that arm hadn't been missing, and from the look of him whatever had happened to him seemed like a recent occurrence. Very recent. And yet he was here, trying to help her.

That did the trick, at the very least for the immediate future. The shame helped her focus, and she felt her breath slowing down, felt herself calming down a little. For a while the fear was gone from her eyes, replaced with concern.

@Nefieslab
 

Maxims Tionson

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Council

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Nefieslab
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
839
Reaction score
380

Max was more concerned with Vinry than he was by his own condition – he was going to be alright and that was something he believed in his bones. His young friend however? She was teetering on the emotional edge, upset, and he could do something about it so he was here to do just that. Vinry started to speak about what it was that was bothering her before she seemed to recognize that he wasn’t in a great state physically himself.

He raised an eyebrow and looked down at himself.

“I might not have trimmed my beard properly in the last few days but I didn’t think it was that bad.”
He joked with a smile that was wide and genuine, “Or is it the arm? Don’t worry about that – there will be time enough for me to get my arm seen to in the future.”

His expression firmed up and he gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze with his remaining hand.

“I’m not here for me, Vinry. I’m here for you – you were about to tell me something. A vision?”
he pushed her gently with that same smile, “Don’t focus on me. Focus on the Force and just breathe… it’s going to be alright. Just talk to me, you do that? We can walk back to the medical bay together. Fair?”

He wasn’t opposed to getting medical treatment after all, he just also wanted to help his fellow Jedi.


@Wit
 

Vinry Forge

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Wit
Joined
Feb 18, 2020
Messages
98
Reaction score
77
Her eyebrows furrowed as she frowned upon hearing his response. "Like hell," she replied, curiosity and concern growing as she noticed more of how battered he looked, "[you look like you should have been in a medbay yesterday." She was like her regular self then, brash and outspoken enough to think it was right to lecture a Council member.

But it only lasted a moment, he mentioned the vision and it came rushing back. She looked down and took a deep breath as she pushed herself to her feet. "Yes," she replied to one of her questions, purposefully ignoring the other for the moment, "fair. Medbay." With that she abruptly turned around and began walking towards the Temple. She needed a moment or two to gather her thoughts, to make sure she made him realize the importance of what he had to say. She had to make him understand, make them all understand.

"I wasn't sure why I got drawn to Ajan Kloss," she began after a little while, voice soft enough that only Max could hear, "not really the best to be just yet. But yet there I was, and there they were." She glanced to the side as she instinctively raised her hand to try and brush back her hair, before realizing she had tried to do it with her left hand. She shook her head in frustration before letting her hand drop. "Sith, four or five of them. I'm not really sure. But one of them, the one that did this, he...he wasn't your run of the mill Sith."

She stopped in her steps, letting Max catch up before speaking, eyes locked at the Temple and the mass of bodies moving about. They would all be in danger if what she thought was true. "How much do you know of the old Sith? Ever heard of the Sith'ari?" She had been dreading this conversation, for whatever irrational reason she had known she had to tell someone but could not bring herself to do so. But now that she had started speaking it seemed easier, it was like letting down a weight she had been carrying all this while. It was too heavy, she had to share the burden or it would crush her.

@Nefieslab
 

Maxims Tionson

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Council

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Nefieslab
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
839
Reaction score
380

She was really hung up on him wasn't she? Well, his health and he could probably see why but he wasn't exactly in the mood to be babied about it. He had earned these wounds doing something he was proud of so he wasn't about to run and hide them - though he was aware that was his pride talking. His practical side knew that she was right, that he really did need medical attention soon but, well, he wasn't here for that.

He came here to help her so he didn't make a move until she seemed to agree to his deal, under much duress though it seemed. A deal was a deal however, so he followed along with her. His stride usually would have meant he was faster than her even at a brisk walk but he was tired, so very tired, so he lagged ever so slightly behind her and to her side.

Sith on Ajan Kloss... so shortly before he and Alex would be there themselves. The idea of purifying the place with active Sith wasn't one worth mentioning - it would have resulted in his death and further toxicity of the Force on that small planet. He listened in silence as she discussed the Sith she had met.

"Darth Bane was the one they believed was the Sith'ari, I believe."
he spoke, half remembered histories at the end of his mind, "Or he believed himself to be the prophesied one at least. I vaguely recall something... Lord of Lords?"

A King of Sith or something of the sort - history had never been his strongest subject.


@Wit
 

Vinry Forge

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Knight

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Wit
Joined
Feb 18, 2020
Messages
98
Reaction score
77
She walked in silence for a little while after he replied. Now that she was broaching the subject, it did seem a little silly. She could very well have been delusional at the time, she had just lost an arm after all. But deep down she knew that wasn't the case. The hesitation didn't come from uncertainty, it came from the fact that she was so certain. If she was right about this then it was a bad thing indeed, and what sort of sane person was eager to be the bearer of bad news? Yes, that was sensible, wasn't it?

"The man I fought on Ajan Kloss." She chuckled at that, stopping herself for a brief moment, it hadn't really been a fight, had it? "[The man I faced, he wore the armor of Darth Kravos. The fact that someone had found that after all this time, that alone was impressive. But this man, Darth Raze he called himself." She stopped, just under the shadow the the Temple, but a few feet from the entrance. She was silent once more, before abruptly turning to face Max and blurting the rest out. "The vision I had was of him. Darth Raze might well be the next Sith'ari. A future Dark Lord of the Sith."

Around them the wind picked up, as if on cue, and she took a step forward to stand closer to the Jedi Master, her voice almost a whisper. "I know I had just lost an arm, and I was shot full of lightning. The medics think I might have suffered a concussion. So there is no reason for you to believe me. But I know what I saw, this was not something I imagined because I was at death's door. This was real. He killed the grandmaster, that was him. And I fear he will do much more unless we stop him."

@Nefieslab
 

Maxims Tionson

Character
Jedi Order
Rank
Jedi Council

Character Profile
Link
OOC
Nefieslab
Joined
Jan 5, 2020
Messages
839
Reaction score
380

Max knew all too well what it felt like to face Sith and to lose something to them during the effort – he had lost Nashyr to a Sith Councillor he later fought on Sullust, a woman of pure hatred. He had lost almost half of his right forearm and hand to lightning from the Eternal themselves. The Master knew well enough the kind of thoughts that ran through someone’s mind when they were so brutally attacked and damaged as Vinry had been by this Darth Raze.

Typically it was easy to demonize someone who had done so much harm to you – it was easy for the sentient mind to make them bigger, badder, than they actually were because they had done so much harm to you, personally. There was probably a term for it in some therapist’s training books but Max wasn’t a therapist and he didn’t know. And as much as he was aware of that response, that desire to make the one who hurt you seem like such a higher threat?

“I believe you.”


Reaching out with his only remaining hand, he placed it gently on Vinry’s shoulder and gave it a soft, reassuring, squeeze. Though a smile and verbal support weren’t going to mean much to her without an explanation so he continued.

“I’ve never met this, Raze, but I don’t think I need to. You saw what you saw and experienced what you experienced – how could I cast doubt on you about that?”
he explained her reasoning to her quietly, “Do I want you to be right? No, but I don’t think you want to be right about it either. So… we gather information until we know everything about him and how to strike back.”

He breathed out heavily with a rueful smile.

“I imagine it doesn’t feel too much better to get it off your chest, does it?”



@Wit
 
Top