First Steps

[The Eternal (Vex)]

Ruelle wasn't sure how many days it had been since her father died. She had started to wander around Nar Shaddaa since then. Hell, she didn't even know what day it was. She hadn't ate in days either, although she could get credits by robbing or killing someone. But she had opted not to risk drawing attention to herself, not yet, because she had gotten onto the trail of some Jedi causing trouble for the exiles. Apparently a small group of them were trying to infiltrate a criminal organization that was heavily allied to the exiles.

While she no longer needed to listen to her father, she still wanted do what she was trained all her life to do; track down, infiltrate and eliminate people causing trouble for the exiles. What else was she suppose to do with her time? Once this was all over she'd eat again. Though to top it off, she was hurt. She had gotten jumped a few times by a few men, one who managed to cut her upper forearm with a vibroknife. She didn't have the credits to go to a doctor, or a medkit right now, so she planned on using her starving, wounded body to her advantage.

She knew that one Jedi walked by this area every night, and so she would smother her force signature, mask her intentions and ask him for help. The risk was that this trick wouldn't work on anyone more skilled in the force than her, so she hoped this Jedi wasn't stronger.

Now sitting on a dirty cement sidewalk in one of the more sketchy areas in Nar Shaddaa, she waited for the Jedi to arrive, clutching her arm that was bleeding a little more than she'd like. She'd survive either way. Almost like clockwork, the Jedi arrived. Walking down the alleyway his eyes settled on her almost instantly. At first he looked wary, but then she called out meekly, "Please... help me" and his eyes seemed to lighten up.

Though the Jedi still moved slowly, she was actually hurt, and starving and she allowed him to sense her pain. "Hold on," he said back to her calmly, walking up to her side and kneeling by her. "Here, let me see that arm." Ruelle nodded with fake tears swelling around her eyes, allowing him to lift her arm and examine it. Right at the moment, she grabbed a lightsaber from her belt, moving it swiftly over to ignite the red beam through the Jedi's chest. @Orbit

 

[Siris Drast]

Siris heard reports from the spies that worked with the Toasted Twi'Lek, showing evidence of Jedi that has been spotted around Nar-Shadda. It was obvious why they were on the planet, they were here for the Toasted Twi'lek. Blythe offered her own men to take care of it but Siris wanted to handle it himself. It's been a long time since he had killed a Jedi and he thought his skills were starting to get a little rusty. That's why he was on the roof of a building, his silver eyes following a Jedi that he had been tracking for a while. The man seemed to go along the same route every night, having spotted the man interrogate local criminals to try and find out more information about the TT.

The people in the streets were too scared of the TT to say anything, hearing the stories of the man they skinned alive and hung from a post as a message. It was a strong message and with the rumors of Exile involvement, it was inevitable that Jedi would come and investigate. Siris had been careful to hide his involvement from the TT as much as he could, the Jedi being the exact reason why. As much as he asked known criminals, they knew nothing of Siris. The Exile followed the Jedi like a predator, leaping from roof to roof silently as he masked his presence and blended nearly perfectly with the shadows. Siris was born in the dark, it was his home and he never felt more comfortable and natural in it.

As Siris watched from above, dark and heavy clouds rolled in and gave faint rumblings of what was to come as a light sprinkle started. Even though the Jedi was determined to help her, it seemed to strange and too placed to be completely comfortable. The man kept his senses alert the entire time, knowing to do that even with his little time spent on Nar-Shadda. As he lifted her arm to look at Ruelle's wound, he saw movement from the corner of his eye and immediately jumped backward, activating his blade and deflecting Ruelle's just in time as it scraped against his armor with sparks flying from it. The thunder now roared as the rain picked up, the heavy water falling steadily and soaking anything in its path.

He stumbled back as he aimed his blade at her, "Exile!" The Jedi shouted venomously as he readied his blade into defensive posture now. Before Ruelle could react to the man, she would see Siris emerge from the shadows behind the Jedi as if he was made from it. His hood was drawn so his features remained hidden, "Jedi." Siris said the word without any warmth as the man quickly spun around at hearing him, throwing a reactionary strike as he meant to do a horizontal slash and cleave him in half. Siris moved like a blur, catching the man's saber wrist and stopping it in its tracks and throwing his other hand right into the crook of his elbow.

It was too fast for the Jedi to track, nowhere near as powerful as Siris as the blade was launched upwards towards the Jedi as Siris aimed it with his left hand. The green went right through the man's throat, his eyes widening as he had realized what just happened as he stared into Siris' eyes. He would find no remorse or empathy there as Siris thrust the saber deeper into the man's throat, cutting off his gurgling as his life slowly ebbed away. Letting go of the Jedi, he collapsed onto the floor in a heap as Siris whipped his gaze over to the woman. His own saber was now in his hand, activating the crimson blade and holding it directly in front and aimed right at her, "Who are you?"

 

[The Eternal (Vex)]

Anger stirred in her when the Jedi dodged back and caught her blade before it hit it's target, lightsabers hissing against the sudden rain. Though it didn't matter. She'd destroy this Jedi... or so she thought. Before she could react something powerful emerged from the darkness, as if it was part of it or belonged there. The figure dealt with the Jedi almost within a blink of an eye, and only after the Jedi fell lifelessly to the ground did she process who it was.

It was Siris; a famed exile. A man of great power and high up in the exiles. Ruelle could feel his power, taste it, it was almost palpable. Her father did not hold a candle to Siris' power. Because of this, Ruelle wasn't exactly sure how to react. Siris was the second exile she had ever seen, and her father never explained exactly how their hierarchy worked.

She also wasn't sure if she should lower her blade, or kneel, or trust him.. so she went with her training and kept her blade in her hand, though she was hesitant to bring it up against him.

How was she suppose to answer him anyway? She bit her bottom lip somewhat before speaking, "You're... um... I'm... Ruelle," was all she managed to say at first, barely stumbling through her words. Wondering if she was suppose to add 'lord' or something to the end of her sentence, though part of her didn't want to. "It's my job to deal with Jedi snooping around in exile business." After she spoke she suddenly felt cold, part of it was from the loss of blood, but most of it was from the rain. Her body began to shake, her stomach seemed to react to it by growling, though she largely ignored it, staying aware in case Siris attacked her.

"I don't believe he was the last Jedi here, but I have very little to go on right now." Okay, so her explanation of what she was doing was a little vague but what else was she suppose to say? Was she suppose to explain that she was an inquisitor or would that be enough?

She backed up somewhat, still keeping her eyes locked firmly on him. "If you'll let me get on with my business, I'd like to look through this Jedi's belongings." As she went to kneel she raised her blade up somewhat, ready to stop, block and jump back if he tried to stab her in the middle of it. She was hoping to find a datapad, or something on his person that would give her a clue to where the other Jedi were, or what they were up to or any contacts or traitors.

 

[Siris Drast]

Siris tilted his head slightly as she kept her blade in hand and at the ready. She was in no position to fight him, he could see it but he gave her slight respect for not being one to bow down immediately. He saw recognition dawn in her eyes, Siris still not used to his name so widespread among the Exiles. It got under his skin slightly and he couldn't help it, it was just his nature. His silver eyes fluidly went up and down Ruelle, catching her body shivering and the blood that was flowing from her wound. "Ruelle," murmuring the name out as if testing it out. He arched an eyebrow at her telling him it was her job to deal with Jedi snooping.

Siris had never heard or seen her before but something about her started to make him like her a little bit more. Even in her state, she was still trying to kill Jedi for whatever job she had. He questioned who gave her this job but he remained silent as she pointed out that there may have been more Jedi. She wasn't wrong and that meant the girl was resourceful because he was sure she was a solo act doing this. Siris had found two more Jedi combing through the city, spending most of his nights tracking each one and recording their movements. They weren't the trained shadows like Kal was and Siris had learned a few things from the man to spot the Jedi's concealment methods.

When she asked to search through the Jedi's belongings, Siris flicked his hand forward and the man's body slid towards him and right under the Exile's foot. "Your business is my business is mine now. I will warn you once to stay where you are." Deactivating his lightsaber and sliding it into his belt, Siris called the force to him and had it wrap around him protectively. He would be ready to unleash it on Ruelle if she tried to make a move against him and he let her know it by allowing the Dark Side flow through him and it radiating off him powerfully. It would still be hidden from the Jedi, just showing his signature enough for Ruelle. It was his business now, there was another Exile in play and she could blow the entire thing if she was spotted. Even though the first Jedi may have fallen for her trick, not all of them would and he didn't need them to have a warning that they were coming for them.

Siris lifted his boot from the Jedi's corpse before crouching down and rummaging through the man's items. After a few seconds, he found a datapad on the man's belt and pulled it off before stashing it in one of his pouches. Pulling the lightsaber out of the man's throat, he flung to it a nearby drain and it clattered on top of it before following through and into the sewer and being washed away. Turning his attention back to Ruelle, he glanced at her wound before reaching for the Jedi's cloak and tearing a large piece off of it. "Deactivate your blade or I will force you too." He told her as he ripped off the strip before standing up and waiting for her to do so.

 

[The Eternal (Vex)]

Ruelle was slightly annoyed when Siris pulled the Jedi's corpse away, placing his boot on him so she couldn't attempt to get him back. Of course she wouldn't dare to try. She wasn't a fool. He could completely destroy her if she did something stupid.

He told her that her business now was his; she wasn't exactly sure what he meant by that. Was he going to take over the job and send her away? Or maybe most exiles were similar to her father and he wanted her to follow his orders now? While she was somewhat enjoying her new found freedom, she was also fairly lost and didn't know what to do with herself besides kill Jedi.

After he warned her not to move she took his threat seriously. He wrapped the Force around himself and allowed her to feel his strength to double up on the warning. Ruelle remained in place as he rummaged through the corpse, gripping her saber and pouting somewhat when he found the datapad and stuffed it in his own pocket, without letting her take a look. He was going to send her away, wasn't he? Surely he had the power and rank to do that if he wanted...

She had to do something, and quick.

But before she could speak he told her to turn her saber off. Not wanting to tango with him she obeyed his order, though still somewhat afraid of what he planned on doing next to her. The fimilar sound of her lightsaber powering down filled the air between them before she finally took the moment to make her case. She didn't want to be sent away.

"Look, I don't know exactly what you mean by my business being yours now but..." she looked at the ground for a second, eyes reflecting the light pool of blood and water beneath her feet. "But if you plan on taking over the investigation, please don't send me away." She looked up at him again, eyes filled with determination now. Determination to make him understand that she needed this. "I have nothing else to do, no where else to go. This job is all I have. Let me see it through."

She realized she was still holding her hilt after speaking, rather tightly too, so she put it back on her belt carefully. Allowing her arms to fall to her sides, lowing her head to put herself in a less threatening pose. Though not without a small grimace from the pain of moving her hurt arm. The pain was nothing like what her father put her through so it didn't bother her too much, but she was aware if she lost too much blood she wouldn't be able to finish this job, even if Siris allowed her to stay on it.

 

[Siris Drast]

Siris remained silent as she turned off her saber, his gaze locked on hers as he continued holding the strip of cloth in his hand. He let her speak, standing still as a statue as she did, catching the glint in her eye. It couldn't be mistaken, there was a storm in there, something that made her tick and wanted her to see this through no matter what happened. Siris didn't know her story and he wouldn't ask, now only worried about how she would affect the outcome of the mission. Once she finished talking, Siris calmly walked over to her before grabbing her arm and extending it out as he twisted it to see the gash.

"Hold still," He murmured before wrapping the fabric around her arm gently before tightly securing it so it would stop the bleeding. Running his hand over the makeshift bandage to confirm it would hold, he gave a short nod before letting go of her arm. Siris towered over as he glanced down at her before taking a step back and gesturing her to come with a movement from his head, "Let's go." Even though he let her come with, he still didn't trust her at all whatsoever. His nerves were on edge and his senses on alert, ready in case Ruelle tried to do something stupid or another Jedi decided to pop out.

Siris didn't wait for her, putting on a fast pace as he made his way out of the alley and into a near-empty street with some speeders flying by and some walking passers-by. Glancing towards one direction, he led the way down the sidewalk as he placed his hand in his pockets, returning into his shell as he walked side by side with Ruelle. After a few minutes, they arrived at a small food joint, Siris walking up to the window before tossing a few credits to the cook and asking him to make a simple meal. When it was done, he made his way over to where Ruelle was before handing it over to her, "You need to eat, you're going to slow me down if you don't." He also noticed how she was shivering from before and he let out a soft sigh before sliding his jacket off and holding it in front of her, "Take it."

 

[The Eternal (Vex)]

Blinking, Ruelle was a little confused when he started to examine her arm. The words 'deal with your own mess' from her father echoed through her mind as Siris started to wrap her arm. She flinched feeling the clothe tightly wrap around the wound, though she knew it was exactly what she needed. At least the bleeding would stop now. She was still a little taken aback when he turned away, only snapping back to reality when he told her to follow.

With only a little hesitation she followed him, wondering where he would lead them. He hadn't told her anything about the case, if he knew more. Then they arrived as a restaurant and suddenly how hungry she truly was hit her like a truck. She swallowed when he ordered food, hoping that just maybe she could have some of it. In the end, he handed the whole meal to her. She barely heard what he said when he did, grabbing it quickly and starting to shove the food in her mouth. Even though she probably looked like a pig, she was starving...absolutely ravenous. She didn't speak even once until every bit of the food was gone, ignoring how he was staring at her as she licked off the crumbs. She felt so good now. Refreshed, except still freezing.

Looking up, Siris seemed a little annoyed at her because he sighed, though he handed her his jack after. At this point Ruelle was beyond confused at his kindness but she sure as hell wasn't about to say no to it. Putting down the plate she took the jacket and slipped it on, noticing his smell from it. It didn't smell like sweat it just smelt like... a man. It was hard to put into words.

After she stumbled some words, "Th...thanks. You're sure odd but you're only the second exile I've ever come across! Well... besides myself and my late father. I guess we are all sorts of weird huh?" Now that she wasn't bleeding to death, starving and was a little warmer, she felt a little more comfortable. Especially since Siris hadn't hurt her; her training did tell her to not trust anyone but she wasn't exactly sure if that applied to an exile lord.

Running her hands through her hair, she gathering it all together and squeezed it to get rid of some of the wetness before putting her gray clocks hood back on. "So um... can I look at that datapad?" she asked, tipping her head and reaching out with her arm, "Please? I suspect that the Jedi are up to more than just infiltration. This organization they're after deals heavily in spice, right? Do you think the Jedi might be ballsy enough to taint the spice? That'd certainly be a blow to possibly the employees and buyers..."

 

[Siris Drast]

Siris just stood there silently as she dived into the meal she bought, figuring the words slid over her head as she devoured it as fast as she could. He knows what it feels like to be starving so he didn't hold it against her, patiently waiting for her to finish as he crossed his arms. The rain picked up slightly more, making Siris shift under the cover that Ruelle had so he wouldn't be completely soaked to the bone. He arched his eyebrow at her at thanking him before revealing that he was only the second Exile she came across. When she mentioned her father, that must have been the first and who had taught her.

"Thanks for the compliment." He murmured softly as he leaned against the wall next to her, his eyes scanning the street constantly in case other Jedi were lurking by. When Ruelle asked to see the datapad, he glanced at her for a second before retrieving it from his belt. Holding it in his hand while contemplating to himself for a moment, he eventually tossed the datapad over to let her look through it. "Yes, my business does deal heavily with spice." Siris hated that fact about the Toasted Twi'lek and he stayed far away from it as he could. As much as he would've liked destroying that all together, he knew t was a necessary evil to keep the TT up and running and he let it slide. As long as it was out of his sight, he could manage but he couldn't promise any dealer he came across, even if they worked for him.

"No, I don't think so. They wouldn't want to risk harming people. They would prefer just taking out the source of it." With her already coming along and claiming that it was her job to kill the Jedi, he thought it would be alright to divulge what he knew. "There's two more Jedi left, one usually walks around the Duros sector to try and scout. Another in the Kul sector, that one is actively hunting my men." Siris pushed off the wall before looking to Ruelle, "We better get moving. If you drag behind I'll leave you." Without another word, he headed out back into the rain and towards the direction of the Kul sector, wanting to take care of that one next knowing he was the more dangerous threat out of the two.

 

[The Eternal (Vex)]

My business? she thought. So Siris owned the business, or partly owned it? That made sense why the Jedi were after it. It wasn't just allied to the exiles, one of the exiles owned it. That only made her want to finish that job more, plus she owed him for a meal now. Maybe he'll pay me? the idea sprung into her mind, though it was far-fetched she rather get paid than draw attention to herself by stealing.

He took his time to toss over the pad. She caught it and gave him a 'oh come on' look. Though she realized he couldn't know that she wasn't secretly working for someone or something unless he dug into her mind, so she shrugged it off and started to look through the datapad. While she did he explained there were two more Jedi to kill. She was happy he had tracked them down at least, but hopefully this datapad revealed more. And... it did.

Ruelle looked up at him to tell him something she found, but then he said he would leave her behind if she was slow; something burned in her eyes when he said that and she pushed off to follow behind him quickly.

"I wont fall behind! You're stuck with me for this job!" she mustered, catching up to his side. Was she suppose to speak to him this way? Oh well, it was too late. She suspected that she'd eventually learn how she was suppose to speak to him, one way or another. "And speaking of being stuck with me, do you have any jobs I could do for credits after this? Since you own a fancy business you have to have something, right? I just need one job at least to get off this moon."

Then she stood in front of him, hoping he wouldn't just push her to the side or walk around her. "Also hold on a second! I read something you might want to know before we go anywhere. Look, I don't understand it completely..." The young exile held the datapad out in front of Siris. "There is a man who calls himself a 'friend of eyepatch' that's been leaking information to the Jedi. It also looks like he's planning an ambush on someone big in your organization."

 

[Siris Drast]

Siris kept his gaze forward as he walked, hearing Ruelle call after him and saying he was stuck with her for the time being. He didn't have a problem with that as long as she could handle her own and stood out of his way. His eyes glanced over at her as she asked for a job, wanting some money to at least get off the planet and go off and do her own thing. Her assumption wasn't wrong, he had plenty of jobs for her to do but he didn't trust her enough to send her on any of them. He would be the judge of that after he evaluated her on this mission, "We'll see." It was the best he would give her now, others he would have just said no.

When she walked forward before stopping in front of him, he halted where he was before arching an eyebrow at her as she told him to stop. He didn't want to just be standing here, he felt like he was wasting time and each passing second was more time for the Jedi to embed themselves within the TT or discover more information about it. When she offered the datapad forward he retrieved it from her hand before scrolling through the contents, finding where it mentioned that the Jedi were getting information from a friend of Eyepatch. Siris immediately knew who it was and he simply crushed the datapad between his fingers before tossing it to the side. Even after his death, that man still found a way to try and screw over the TT.

Siris didn't know who the friend was but once they found the other Jedi, he sure had questions to ask for him. "We need to find that other Jedi, now." If they had an informant who was a friend of Eyepatch, that meant the Jedi had to at least know about the casino and how TT now ran it. Siris pushed past her before building the force around himself and leaping onto the roof of a nearby building. Once Ruelle followed him, he leaped from building to building, speeder the process drastically before finally arriving at the Kul district.

When he landed on the final building, Siris made his way over to the edge before crouching down and having his silver orbs scan the street and nearby building. As Ruelle pulled up beside him, he finally shed some light on the situation, "Eyepatch was the previous owner of a casino the Toasted Twi'lek took. If they have an informant then that means they possibly know about it." He remained silent on who the ambush was for, deciding that Ruelle didn't need to know about that yet. Siris wouldn't let anything happen to Blythe, her life intertwined with his with her success riding on his. He spent too long building this entire thing for some pesky Jedi to bring it crumbling down.

 

[The Eternal (Vex)]

Well... a 'we'll see' was better than nothing. He was her best option to get off this moon and start a new life, so she'd have to show him she could do this job. When he crushed the datapad she raised an eyebrow, wanting to ask him a question but he took off right away.

She stumbled back somewhat, frowning as he pushed past her. Her green eyes followed him to a rooftop. She needed to follow him so she copied him as best she could, building up the force in her body and leaping up. He was clearly stronger in the force than her so she had some trouble keeping up, but she was determined to see this through. Jumping from roof to roof, as they finally came to a stop she settled beside him.

Finally she got some sort of explanation from him. At least that narrowed it down from nothing. If this Jedi didn't provide them with a name, they could possibly torture a few people or ask around at least. "So we need to get some answers out of this jedi then?" Ruelle thought for a second while her eyes scanned the area for this other jedi. Even if this one was stronger than her, she could use herself as bait. Have him focus on her while Siris sneaked up from behind again.

Then she sensed something, a being powerful in the force and he wasn't the man beside her. Ruelle realized the man had sensed her too, which was perfect. "I'll act as bait," she said scaresly above a whisper before jumping down. She knew that if she could sense the jedi, so could Siris so she didn't have to explain much beyond that. The jedi was heading towards her, and so she started to head towards him without hesitation.

Before she turned the corner, the corner she knew he was around she took one of her lightsabers from her belt with her right hand. Both her and the Jedi's lightsabers sprang to life. Her's red. His blue. They hissed loudly against the ceaseless rain. Lightening split the sky into a thousand jagged shapes. Thunder rolled. The jedi looked up at her and she could see a gray beard under his hood even in the darkness. His words cut through the sound of the rain, "Young one." Ruelle's face twisted into a smirk. She knew what was about to come next. "This path you have gone down will destroy you in the end. Like every exile before you. But you don't have to continue, you can turn back. Come to the light, and I will guide you."

Ruelle laughed once, "You tell me this but I've never known the light, Jedi."

He answered quickly, "I can show-" but she cut him off with a snarl. "NO! This is what I am. I was born in darkness and I will die in darkness."

His raised his lightsaber up, pointing it towards her in a more aggressive stance than she expected from someone who just tried to save her. "I will not kill you, young one, but I must subdue you."

Ruelle wasn't sure where Siris was now, but she was ready to throw down against this Jedi if needed so she raised her own lightsaber up, smiling at him. "Try me."

 

[Siris Drast]

"Yes, we do need answers." He replied back as his eyes remained on the city, keeping a vigilant gaze over it. Siris wanted to find this informant as quickly as possible, the thought of having a rat amongst them made his skin crawl and he would make sure that the man paid for it. But before they continue on what they needed, both of them felt the same signature that could have only been the Jedi. But something wasn't right, if the Jedi knew that the TT was working with the Exiles, why wouldn't they hide their presence? Siris's signature was already smothered, hiding his presence from the Jedi as Ruelle confirmed that he sensed her too.

"Wai-" Siris reached out his hand to stop her but it was already too late, the girl jumping down from the building to take the Jedi head on. He let out a low sort of growl to himself, not really pleased with the whole fact that Ruelle just got up and went instead of thinking things over. Standing up and making his way over to the other edge of the roof, it gave Siris an eagle view of the two getting ready to fight each other. He crouched down again, deciding that he was going to stay up there. There were a couple of reasons, first was to see if Ruelle could actually handle herself in a fight and the second was basically punishment for being the one to rush off. Siris could sense that the Jedi had a deeper connection to the force than the girl and if things got that bad, he would step in before the Jedi could do anything to her.

As he observed from above and watched their little debate unfold, she was already making her first mistake. As much as the Jedi meant what he said, he was also stalling as he gathered the force around himself. The Jedi dashed into the nearby alley, using the force to assist his movements to make sure that Ruelle couldn't throw him off track before he spun on his heel and faced her once more. Least the Jedi recognized that a fight between the two of them in the street would be suicidal, plenty of people on the planet that would give up their own lives to get a crack at one million credits.

"I do not wish to hurt you young one, but you've left me no choice." The Jedi shot his hand forward, a blast of force energy erupting his palm and directed towards Ruelle as it pushed trashcans and other litter out of the way. Before letting her deal with that, the Jedi would close the distance by leaping forward, his blade coming down vertically to simply cut her right down the middle. Whatever happened, Siris would be at the ready as he also summoned the force to his command. If things would start to get out of hand, he would be there.

 

[The Eternal (Vex)]

The Jedi came at her like a bolt of lightening. She knew that he was much more powerful in the force than her, so anything she sent his way to attempt to slow him down would fail. She chose to rely on her blade to delay the Jedi until Siris came; she swung her blade at him but he reached out, the motion a blur, and the length of a metal poll ripped off a nearby sidewalk. Before Ruelle could blink he had intercepted the strike of her blade with the poll, the impact sending a jolt up her forearm, knocking the blade out of her hand and sending it flying across the street into a wall.

She cried out in pain, but used that pain to fuel her next move, quickly gathering the force to send herself backwards as fast as she could, bringing her second lightsaber to her left hand just in time to catch his swing from cleaving her.

She didn't waste a second, she switched to an offensive posture and pressed a new attack. Their weapons colliding against each other as the rain poured down. As she put all of her focus, all of her force into the speed and strength of her movements her lightsaber never felt more comfortable in her hand, so much like part of her. Her confidence grew and she smiled wolfishly as she saw the surprise on his face. Feeling the force alive and hungry around her, demanding death.

But it was a fleeting thing. Quicker than she could follow, he parried one of her thrusts and continued the motion in an attempt to disarm her. At the same time he swung his leg under her, forcing her to fall backwards onto the cement. Within a second his blade was at her throat, and he stared down at her saying two words calmly, "Stand down." Ruelle barely paid attention to them, as she almost instantly noticed that her still ignited blade was pointed towards one of his arms.

All she had to do is press one button—and so she did. Her duel-phase lightsaber extended in less than a second into the Jedi's free arm. He screamed in pain as the beam burned through his armor into his flesh. She moved so it cut through the appendage—cutting it clean off from the forearm—and as she did she rolled, turning off her saber at the appropriate point until she got back onto her feet to reignite it. She didn't wait to see what happened next, instead dashing forward to attack him again; but by that point he had recovered enough to reach out with his lightsaber arm and send her flying violently backwards with the force.

Ruelle collided with a wall violently. She felt her whole body fill with pain that sent her instantly back to memories of her father, and then she fell to the ground with a whimper. Her blade went out and rolled away from her. She was too dazed to notice it. Was this it? Did Siris leave her?

 

[Siris Drast]

Siris continued his observation, patiently watching as Ruelle met the Jedi head on. They both knew that the Jedi she was facing was more powerful and it was evident in their fight, Ruelle barely managing to hold her ground each time but still refusing to give up. He caught the smile on the girl's lips and Siris just shook his head at that, the fight nowhere near over as the Jedi didn't falter either and went on the attack once more. Knocking her down to the ground and telling her to stand down, he was surprised when the Jedi screamed in pain before spotting that she cleanly cut his hand off and got back into a fighting position.

But the Jedi had enough of playing these games, extending his good hand out and sent her flying haphazardly into the metal wall of the building. The man groaned in pain as he glanced down at his hand, it twitching slightly on the group before he whipped his gaze to her. "I tried to warn you." Pushing his way through the pain, the Jedi stood over Ruelle before raising his saber and ready to end her life right there. He brought the blade down with determination but before it could connect, the Jedi's feet were suddenly yanked from under him and he fell right on his face in front of Ruelle. The man looked at her with a confused expression on his face, blood sprouting from his nose as he thought she was the one who had done it.

Before the Jedi could get back up, he was suddenly dragged backward from his legs by an invisible force. The man dropped his lightsaber in his only good hand as his fingernails clawed along the cement as he tried to stop himself. The man let out a scream as he was suddenly pulled into the darkness further down the alley as he continued to scream. Ruelle would be able to hear multiple sickening crunches with the man's screams completely ridden with pain before it suddenly cut off. Siris stepped out from the shadow, his gaze slowly sliding over to Ruelle on the ground. "Get up." His tone was cold as he didn't make a move to help her, waiting for herself to get up on her own.

When she did she could see Siris' silver gaze boring into her like it was staring into her soul, "You're reckless and you're weak. You could have killed yourself with your little stunt." Without saying another word he turned his gaze back to where the Jedi was before the man was slid along the ground and right under Siris. He was still alive but barely, the man's other arm broken along with his foot twisted at a strange and unnatural angle. Multiple bruises and cuts covered the man's face and his chest barely rose and fell as one of his eyes was swollen shut. The man reached upwards to Siris as he crouched down but he just slapped it away before roughly cupping the man's cheeks with one hand and forcing him to look into Siris' eyes."I have questions for you. If you want a quick death then I suggest you answer truthfully to me."

 

[The Eternal (Vex)]

At first Ruelle was confused herself, staring at the Jedi on the ground while she was still dazed from the impact. She watched as he was dragged away, slowly regaining her senses as she heard the screams and twisted crushing of bones and flesh. She was still in pain but was fully aware when Siris came out, figuring out what happened.

She gripped her hands when he told her to get up coldly, sensing his anger at her. Hearing the coldness in his tone. It triggered memories of her father, who she both hated, respected and most of the time felt like she needed. Ruelle didn't say anything as she got to her feet slowly, loosing her steps a few times before standing fully up. She kept her eyes on the ground for a second in fear before looking up and seeing the anger in Siris' eyes. Those silvery, soulless looking eyes. He called her reckless, and weak and it made her angry. Her green eyes burned with it, and frustration because part of her knew it was true. She needed to get stronger but she no longer had her father to guide her.

Looking away from Siris after, she couldn't take his eyes boring into her. "I-I'm sorry," was all she managed to say, her jaw tightening, stopping herself from saying 'father' at the end because she didn't know how to address Siris and it almost came out. Wanting to hurt something badly now to take out her frustration, but she simply listened to Siris speaking to the Jedi.

"Y-you... you will get nothing out of me exile," the Jedi stuttered through the pain. Pain he didn't know was possible, but he was a Jedi and he couldn't allow darkness to win so he tried to hold on; just long enough to die without doing damage to their operation.

Ruelle turned back to the Jedi the moment he refused to talk. The Force swirled around her, darkness and anger and fear and frustration consuming her mind; she let it all out with a spark of lightening. It would burn the Jedi's flesh, but not kill him because she was not capable of large bursts like older and more experienced exile's. "GIVE US THE TRAITORS NAME!" she screamed as loud as she could, tiny sparks coming from her hands ready to fire at the Jedi again.

The sparks threw the Jedi over the age, he writhed and twisted in agony as the last parts of his body filled with the same pain his arms and legs were in. "PEM... PEM! PEM!" the Jedi scream the name over and over again. Even if he did, Ruelle wanted to hurt him more, she could barely control her anger right now, though the use had tired her out more than she already was.

 

[Siris Drast]

He saw his words had an effect on her, it clear with how it burned in her eyes. Something was bothering her, Siris could sense it and when he told her that she was reckless and weak, he really had felt it then. He kept his gaze on her until her's eventually retreated, issuing an apology which only caused Siris to give a shake of his head. "Don't be sorry, be better. Being sorry is what get's you killed." Maybe he was wrong about Ruelle, wondering where that determination and fire from earlier went. It was as if she had completely changed in under a few moments and Siris took note of it. But he didn't linger on it any longer, focusing his attention back on the Jedi to find the answers they were looking for.

Of course, the aging Jedi told him that he wouldn't reveal anything in order to allow the darkness to win. Siris didn't care if he wanted the darkness to win or not, it didn't matter to him. He only wanted answers and the fate of the Jedi was going to be the same, he had a choice to either make it painless or excruciating. It seemed he wanted to go with the latter. Siris was personally just going to ravage his brain to find the answers he was searching for, it being the most efficient and cleanest way to do it. But before he could reach down and make the connection, Siris sensed Ruelle's emotions starting to take control and he glanced up at her as the Exile continued to shoot sparks of lightning into him.

She screamed as loud as she could, demanding the informant's name before the Jedi finally gave into the pain and told them who it was. Before Siris could think over the name, the force would suddenly constrict around Ruelle before slamming her into a wall. "Control yourself!" Siris hissed at her as the Jedi on the ground mumbled incoherently from her vicious attack with the sparks. "We may use our emotions but don't let it take over. Hone it." Even though Siris didn't care what she did to the Jedi, it was the fact that she drew attention to them with her screaming and constant lightning sparks.

Turning his attention back to the Jedi, even though the man defied him at first he still gave the two of them a name. He was in pain enough and Siris would do him a favor in just ending it quickly for the man. Activating his saber, Siris twirled it so the blade would end up hovering over the Jedi's chest before he would plunge through. The Jedi let out a gasp once the blade burned through his armor and the life from the man's eyes started to fade. Yanking it free, Siris crouched down once more to rummage through his clothes and finding another datapad on him. Unlocking, it gave information on how Pem first contacted the Jedi and a transcript of their past dealings. Scrolling through it to find what he was looking for, it was the actual way to contact this Pem whenever they wanted to set up another meeting.

But before Siris would do that, he wanted to take care of the last remaining Jedi. The informant could wait, probably drunk or high as a kite right now and not even notice that two Exiles were hunting after him. But with the death of the second Jedi, Siris was expecting the last would have a feeling that the two were coming for him and be prepared to hide further or turn it into a fight. Standing up and storing the datapad, Siris glanced over to Ruelle before making his way out of the alley, "We have one more to take out."

 

[The Eternal (Vex)]

Before Ruelle could throw more sparks at the Jedi she felt the Force wrap around her tightly. She couldn't move and then she was thrown back against the wall again, hearing Siris yelling control yourself! at her as it happened. She cried out as a burst of pain went through her body on impact—for the second time. This time being worst than the last because she was already pretty sore.

Her arm had been cut, the other was hurting from the poll smacking into it... then being slammed against a wall by the Jedi. She listened to the rest of what Siris had to say. In her daze she mumbled "Y-Yes master," after. Quickly realizing that it probably wasn't appropriate but she didn't want to address that slip up and make things even more worse, mostly hoping he'd ignore it.

But he was probably right... because she was feeling extra tired from the pointless use of force during her rage.

Even though she was in a decent amount of pain she forced herself to get up, breathing deeply, balling her fists and grunting as she got to her feet. As much as she was in pain, she didn't want to lay down. She didn't want to give up. Even if she had a few more cuts, or if she was nearly dead she'd still want to finish the job, because the job was her life. Every fiber of her being told her that this is where she belonged. That this was meant to be and what she needed to endure.

She brought both of her fallen sabers back to her hands before following behind Siris, keeping a little bit of a distance but only to show some respect. Part of her wanted to run ahead to find the Jedi but she already knew Siris would get mad if she tried to take lead again. Instead she just spoke, "That Jedi was powerful... his friend must have sensed his death. Perhaps we-" She was about to suggest a plan when she caught something shiny in her peripheral vision.

A man, and he he had a C4 blaster pointed right at Siris, his finger squeezing the trigger. Ruelle knew Siris could defend himself but she didn't care, her only thought was to act and act right away. She quickly ignited her crimson saber and deflected a bolt that was aimed for Siris' head. The man saw, turned on his heels and began to run as fast as he could. Ruelle wanted to chase him but she looked back at Siris and waited for his reaction or order this time.

 

[Siris Drast]

Siris did remain silent at her calling him master. He wasn't really expecting that and it made him realize he was sort of teaching her through this. It was strange, knowing that if any other Exile would have been sloppy as her Siris would have just left them behind. But something about her made him keep Ruelle with him, maybe it was the determination and fire in her eyes. If Siris was honest with himself, he actually saw part of him in her, fighting for survival and not giving up a single inch until you achieved it. He didn't know if this would prosper into something or not but Siris needed to keep his mind focused on the mission and he did exactly just that.

As he exited from the alley, he caught how Ruelle now chose to stay behind him and keep her distance slightly. Siris wasn't here to coddle her and he hoped that point would come across to her. As they made their way down the empty street to the last known sector the Jedi was spotted in, he heard Ruelle speak to him and mention something he already thought of before she suddenly just stopped talking. Siris' hand immediately went to his saber, lifting it off his hip as he turned and saw the bolt coming straight for him. But before he could activate his own saber, Ruelle's already deflected it. The man behind the gun instantly took off once his shot didn't connect, wanting to put as much distance between them as possible or lead them to a trap.

Siris glanced at her as she looked back at him, silently waiting for him to either tell her what to do or go off what he did. "Take the roofs, cut him off if you can." It could still possibly be a trap and they would need to keep that in mind before blindly chasing after a shooter when a Jedi was in the area. Without saying another word to her Siris was already off and sprinting down the alley, the force enhancing his movements as he moved like a blur. Even with his increased speed, he would keep his eyes peeled for anything to ambush him. With Ruelle coming from above, Siris hoped that she would manage to inform him if others were in the area or manage to cut him off before he could reach any backup if he had any.

 

[The Eternal (Vex)]

Ruelle nodded at Siris' orders, folding the Force around her and leaping to the roofs. Following him and the shooter as closely as she could while jumping from roof to roof. But she didn't have to move that far, as she spotted what Siris expected ahead—a trap, albeit a rag-tag looking one. The alleyway forked into three paths, the left and right one had men holding blasters with their fingers on their triggers. The left also had what looked like a Jedi Master hiding his signature, two lightsaber hilts clutched in his hands. Ruelle needed to warn Siris.

She reached out with her mind to him, "There's a trap at the fork. Four men in total. One on the left looks like a Jedi master."

Instead of jumping off the roof right away she stopped in surprise as the Jedi Master walked out into Siris' path. The one running away from Siris took a sharp turn around a corner and joined one of the other men. The other men did not come out with the Jedi; it looked like they planned to spring a surpise attack on Siris while he was fighting the Jedi.

"You will not be allowed to take another life, exile," the Jedi said, igniting his two green lightsabers with a snap-hiss. He gave Siris no time to answer, charging forward to engage him with great speed, as he had been gathering his power ever since he sensed his friend was in danger.

"I'll drop frags on the left and right paths then join you... unless you object," she sent the words to his mind again. If there were no objections, she'd grab a frag in both hands. Using the Force to pull the pins in both and then guiding them to their targets. She'd time them so they'd go off before they came into view. And since they were in an alleyway, the shrapnel would bounce off the walls and cover a larger area, giving the men no chance of escape even if they looked up by chance and saw them early.

 

[Siris Drast]

Siris chased after the man, the force fueling him as he pumped his legs to catch up with the man having such a headstart. He saw as Ruelle jumped onto the roof and he hoped that from what he told her before she would take it into account. That's when he heard her voice in his head, telling him that it indeed was a trap and the Jedi was there waiting for him. Hearing that, both of his sabers slipped into his hand as he ran and saw the runner turn past the corner and the Jedi step out to replace him. Maybe the Jedi expected him to stop but Siris had no intention to. With him stepping into view and confirming he was the Jedi with his two green sabers activated, Siris didn't slow down but actually picked up the speed.

He activated his two sabers as well, a dark crimson compared to the Jedi's green. The Jedi seemed to have the same idea and ran to him, ready to bring his sabers down on top of Siris and cut him in half. As they ran toward each other and closed the distance, Siris didn't try and strike him with his blade but instead tried to remove the Jedi from the entire situation as best he could. When they were close enough, he leaped forward with one of his knees raised and his blades up in a defensive position to block the Jedi's incoming strike. Siris' knee struck the man dead center in the nose and the Jedi flew backward as Siris followed with him. They both crashed through a window and out of the alley from the four men as they seemed to have landed in a little office building.

With no longer in view of the trap, it would be up to Ruelle to decide how to take out the four men. Siris had a Jedi to take care of and the only thing he wished for was that Ruelle realized that she shouldn't drop the grenades. It would only draw attention to them with the massive explosions and they didn't need the police or anyone else involved in this. Siris also didn't respond because she needed to figure out her own ways to handle situations, he wouldn't be there every time for her when she needed it.

As they crashed through the window, the Jedi landed on his back with a grunt as Siris rolled off of him and spun on his heel to face him. The Jedi got up instantly before raising his blades in a defensive position, "You are a murderer! I will make sure you pay for your crimes." Siris stared back at him passively and that and that seemed to anger the Jedi more as he launched himself at Siris. The Exile watched as his grip tightened around his weapons before finally moving. As the Jedi launched forward, Siris also did but before they could connect he spun on his foot so that he would dodge the incoming stab as it grazed against his back. He was now on the back side of the Jedi and Siris did a quick vertical slash up the man's back that made him let out a scream of pain. The Jedi thought they could destroy the TT and Siris would show they are mistaken and this Jedi would pay for it.