Open One of Us

[Ashla Ti]

Ashla didn't want to stop, couldn't break herself stop. But before she could continue on bloody rampage, and probably get herself killed by the sheer number of slavers that were there, Malou intervened, dealing with a cluster that was focused on the Togruta acolyte and were beginning to overwhelm her. She dropped to a knee, breathing hard from the exertion, wincing from the pain from shots that had managed to graze her despite her best efforts.

Words hadn't worked, pain hadn't worked, but then she sensed Malou's presence in the Force, and something she heard through the Force reminded her of a lesson long learned, but not fully understood. She had let herself become a slave to her emotions, and it had kept her from doing what she needed to do. The Jedi, oddly enough, had the better off it. If they could track the slavers to their base then they could strike a more fatal blow against them than anything she could do here today. Her mindless slaughter would achieve nothing. Raze had told her to be in control of her emotions, to control of her mind. All this time she had tried to do that, but it seemed like there were some wounds, some memories, that you could not overcome till faced with them. But now she knew, and the only way to overcome a weakness was to first acknowledge it. She nodded, and though it may seem to Malou she nodded in acknowledgement of what she said, it was in acknowledgement of so much more.

She took a deep breath, and felt her body relax as she fell into a meditative state that was a weird mix of Sith breathing techniques and some yoga techniques she had found on Emryc Thorne's blog. But whatever it was, it worked, and when she heard the shout from the Ranger, warning them that the slavers had Malou's Jedi friend, she knew exactly what she had to do. What they had to do.

"I'm sorry," she said turning to Malou, "but I've got in under control now. First things first, we need to save your friend. His plan is sound, but there's nothing we can't gain from capturing one of the slavers or their ship that we'd get from him risking his life." She didn't care about the Togruta Jedi, but it simply wasn't the most efficient plan. There were more slavers here than she, or Malou could handle on their own, and the Jedi would be useful in a fight. If they could get to him that is.

"I'll draw their attention, you move for your friend. Try to get him on his feet and helping with the fight. Then, we capture ourselves someone who'll talk."

Not waiting for a reply, she jumped back to her feet and dashed away from Malou, making sure she was at least a dozen or so feet from her before switching her blade on. As always a lightsaber coming to life was a surefire way to draw attention. Only this time she was drawing the attention of many an eye linked to hands with blasters with them. The blasters bolts started flying in, but this time she was ready, this time she was in control. She held her position for a valuable seconds that would give Malou the time to move unobstructed towards Ruz, before she rolled behind the cover of a stall to catch her breath.

"Hey, sniper lady!" She called out to the woman with the rifle as she sat panting behind the stall. "Shoot any slaver that gets close to the ship with someone in tow, keep them from boarding the ship. I'll deal with the ones out here!"

With that she took another deep breath and jumped back out, blade springing to life as she began swatting away bolts.

@lizziie @SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665 @Aurius

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

When Ashla turned to address her, Malou felt a sense of relief calm her nerves. She'd been alright with Ruzaan's plan, but between him and Ashla, she was going to be the one Malou was more willing to listen to. "Fair enough," was the Miralukan's response. She turned away from her friend as she began to distract the slavers, taking the opportunity to dash away as well. Her Sight reached out across the battlefield until she zoned in on Ruzaan's location.

With the Jedi's saber still ignited in her hands, Malou made quick work of the few slavers who had gotten past the defending Togruti and offworlders. Once she finally spots Ruzaan, her path straightened out, and made a beeline straight for him. The slavers spotted her about halfway and sent a few shots her way. Though she was unfamiliar with the use of saberstaffs, it didn't take much for her to rotate the lightsaber around in her hands to absorb the shots into it. Two stayed back to continue shooting at her while one continued on with his unconscious body.

Anger rose in her chest as she dashed forward again. With the Force by her side, it wasn't long before she descended upon the two. One managed to get a shot off at her, but not before she swung the saber and beheaded his coworker standing next to him. The shock of seeing his coworker's head drop to the ground affected his aim, so the bolt flew past her head without hitting her. Soon, his head joined the other on the ground.

"W-Wait! You can have-" Before the third slaver could get his plead out, Malou's lightsaber cut through his midsection like butter. She quickly knelt down next to Ruzaan, paralyzed by the stun bolt. She disabled the lightsaber and set it down next to her as she placed a finger on his neck to check his pulse. He was fine. Malou quickly clipped his lightsaber to her belt, then slipped her hands underneath him and lifted him up from the ground.

Because she wasn't sure how long it would take him to wake up, she brought him over to a nearby house. Just as she was about to enter, she noticed the presence of a Zygerrian inside. He had his blaster pressed against the forehead of a Togruta child, and an older Togruta woman had a blaster aimed at him from across the room.

"If you shoot me, she dies t-" Before he could finish, he began to choke on his words. The blaster fell from his hands as he scrambled to grab his throat. He let go of the kid, and she quickly ran over to her grandmother. The man's eyes widened more and more as he searched for Malou, and he found her standing in the doorway with the slumped-over Ruzaan leaned against the wall. With no expression, she closed her fist, crushed his windpipe, then let him fall to the floor.

"Do either of you have any stimulants?" she called over to the two Togrutas cowering in the corner. Once they realized she didn't mean to hurt them, the grandmother nodded and quickly went to a cabinet to pull out a stim for the girl. She tossed it to Malou, who proceeded to inject it into her friend's arm.

"Can you hear me, Ruz?"

tags: @Wit @SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665 @Aurius

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan could, in fact, hear Malou, but his central nervous system couldn't decide if it was on or off, leaving the Togruta quite disoriented as he awoke from the effects of the stun bolts. Two other Togruta were nearby in the ship- an elderly woman, and the young girl that had been captured earlier. For a moment, Ruzaan was concerned- had Malou been imprisoned as well?- before realizing that the ship wasn't moving and that he could still see the familiar surroundings of his home planet, Shili. Beside him, a Zygerrian gasped out their final moments though a throat injury.

If Malou expected gratitude, she would be disappointed. Ruzaan's initial reaction was closer to exasperation; clearly, Malou hadn't followed his Stupid Plan. "How" he replied, somewhat testily, "do you expect us to track them down if nobody is left to fly the ship back to their base?" Part of him knew it was unfair to single out Malou like this- she had, clearly, come to his rescue- but apparently he'd just put himself in great danger for nothing. He had other questions too, like why she hadn't mentioned that her Togruta friend was a Jedi, or what it was that she'd just injected him with, but those could wait. At least she'd brought his lightsaber back, and with a frown he would retrieve his lightsaber if Malou let him.

Outside the ship, the battle had more or less settled down. The pew pew of blasters still rang out every so often, but the attackers had been routed and only a dozen or so remained, clustered into smaller groups of three or four and seriously regretting their life choices.

@lizziie @Wit @logn2665 @Aurius

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

The battle was dying down. The slavers were on the retreat. *Unless we do something about this this is just going to keep happening.* Tiberius thought to himself. He watched a group of Zygerrians about 10 meters away start running back to their ship. Tiberius stepped forwards and picked up a stunner from one of the fallen. He took aim and fired the weapon. The shot hit one of the Zygerrians square in the back and he fell to the ground with a little twitching. His comrades turned to see what had happened but returned to their retreat as they saw Tiberius with and ignited lightsaber and a blaster pointed right at them. No doubt they had been scared by the ferocity of the other lightsaber user who had just mowed down several of their fellow slavers.

Tiberius sprinted over to the fallen Zygerrian and bound him with his own cuffs. As Tiberius was restraining the unconscious Zygerrian he surveyed his surroundings. There, he saw Ruzaan being carried by his friend. The two ducked into a house not far from Tiberius’ current position. With a grunt Tiberius hoisted the now bound Zygerrian onto his shoulder and began to make his way to the house where Ruzaan was taken.

Tiberius made it to the house and lowered his burden to the ground, propping the unconscious being against the wall just outside the door. “Don’t go anywhere.” Tiberius said to his prisoner who almost immediately fell over onto his side. Tiberius shrugged his shoulders and entered the house. Inside he found Ruzaan and his friend(s) along with the two residents of the house.

“Well, it appears introductions are in order.” Tiberius began. “I’m Tiberius.” He said pressing his right hand to his chest to indicate himself. He waited for their response

@Wit @SlagathorTheUnknown @lizziie @Aurius

 

[Ashla Ti]

Slowly but steadily the battle died down, Togruta were warriors, but the slavers had been catching them by surprise, outgunned, and outmatched. But the sudden appearance of lightsaber wielding opposition had turned the tide against them. They were cowards, one and all, and were not prepared for a fight. Once the Togruta started picking up weapons from the fallen slavers and joining the fight besides her the fight was as good as over.

Soon enough she could hear the sounds of combat dying out, screams becoming less frequent, and as she cleared a group of slavers that had tried to herd a group of children towards their ship she found herself facing two slavers, the last one she could spot around her. She started walking towards them, casually batting away their shots, deflecting the last one right back at one of them before stepping right up to the last one, her blade swinging one last time to slice through his blaster. He stumbled back and fell to the ground, trying to crawl backwards till she stepped on his foot and brought his escape attempt to a halt.

She let her blade switch off, and lowered herself to a squat so that she could look him in the eye. "You have two options," she said as she reached forward with her hand and pressed the tip of her unlit blade against his leg, "either you talk, or you die. Understood?" He nodded, frantically, desperately. "Good, now you're going to tell me where you took all my people, and all about your operation. Now!" She emphasized the last word with a slight jab on his leg with her lightsaber's hilt, and he started signing, listing off everything from their base of operations to their strength, and where all the Togruta they had captured in previous raids would be sold.

Satisfied with his answer, Ashla got to her feet, only then noticing the clump of people who had gathered around them. There was determination on their faces, hope. Looking back at the slaver, probably the last one left on the battlefield after the other Togruta had gunned down even the small group that had been trying to flee to their ship, Ashla waved a hand towards him as she turned to walk away.

"He's all yours."

She didn't wait to watch what they did to him, whatever they did, it was their right and she would not take that from them. She instead started looking for Malou, but instead spotted the old woman from earlier and began walking towards her. Kneeling before her, she gently take her hand in her own, ignoring the slight fear that appeared in the woman's eyes.

«Your granddaughter,» she said gently, but with the weight of promise behind her words, «I'll find her, and I'll bring her back. I promise.» The woman broke into tears, all fear now gone, and finally nodded. Ashla left her soon after, and started looking for Malou, but couldn't find her, instead noticing the injured and confused Togruta all around her. They had fought and bled besides her, but now they seemed lost, so used to loss that they were unsure of what to do in the face of triumph.

She stopped and spotting neither the Jedi, nor Malou anywhere around her, realized that they were all looking towards her. She stopped, and let her training take over. "Free all the captives, help anyone who's injured, and those who can fight start rounding up the slavers. Take away their weapons and find a way to retrain them, not all of them are dead, and we don't want them waking up and causing trouble." She stopped, and looked around, and to her surprise they did as she said. Maybe because it was the right thing to do, or maybe because she had fought for them, or maybe because they had heard her words earlier, both to the slaver and to the old woman. Or maybe it was all of it, but they moved. And that left her stunned, the sudden sense of belonging that she felt in that moment left her confused, unsure of so many things. And so she did the only thing she could when her own feelings confused her, she acted. "I need half a dozen fighters, we need to sweep their ship for any stranglers. They might have more captives inside, and we need to finish off any slavers still inside." She turned to move back towards the ship, and well more than a dozen men and women fell in behind her. Excited, terrified, and confused out of her mind, she moved towards the ship. She could sense that Malou was alright, though she still hadn't spotted her, she just hoped she was having a less crazy time than her.

@lizziie @SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

"Because it's safer to capture one of them and make them talk than it is to run after you." His exasperation was met with her plainly stated explanation. When he reached for it, Malou placed his lightsaber back in his hand. It was interesting, to fight with a saberstaff, but the Miralukan couldn't say she preferred it to two separate, or even just one, blades. There was a lot of spinning involved.

As if on cue, a man dragging a bound Zygerrian along entered the home. If she wasn't mistaken, he was the other one wielding a lightsaber. He was the one who was watching the three of them earlier, which planted a seed of suspicion in her.

"Malou," she answered as she took a step away from Ruzaan. "I'm going to go look for my friend. When he wakes, see if you can get any information out of him."

With that, Malou passed by Tiberius and disappeared out the door to go find Ashla. It didn't take her long to notice the group of Togruta headed for the slaver ship with Ashla leading the way. She broke into a jog to catch up, and when she got there, placed a hand on her friend's arm. "They're both Jedi. The Togruta is a padawan but I don't know who the other man is," she said quietly.

"What's your plan?" she would ask next at normal volume. Surely she'd come up with something, seeing the mass of armed folks behind them.

tags: @Wit @SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

Ruzaan pursed his lips in annoyance. Did Malou have a point? Yes. Was he about to concede it? Absolutely not, so it was to an annoyed Ruzaan that the slaver awoke to. The Togruta frowned down at the Zygerrian as he came to; the moments between Malou's exit and the slaver's recovery doing little for his mood.

"I'm probably the most patient person you're going to talk to today" Ruzaan grumbled, plopping down next to the prone Zygerrian, "so make the most of it." His eyes never left the door where Malou had exited, suddenly wondering if he wanted to go help look for Malou's aggressive friend, but ultimately deciding to get to know the other Togruta more at a later time. "Where does the transport return to after the raids?" Only after asking his question did he fix the Zygerrian with a hard stare.

If the Zygerrian was cowed, he didn't show it. Instead of spilling the beans like Ruzaan had hoped, the slaver lunged forwards and snapped at Ruzaan with their teeth, biting down on the duraplast gauntlet covering his right wrist. Ruzaan's cry of alarm quickly turned to one of pain as a tooth slipped between the armor's coverage and pieced skin.

"Ow! Get! Off!" Ruzaan yelled, punctuating his words with wild blows aimed at the Zygerrian's face with his free left hand. A second later the slaver had released him and slumped back to the floor with a wicked grin, and Ruzaan withdrew a couple of paces while nursing his superficial- but painful- new injury.

"Why do I even try?" the Togruta complained to himself. Such self-pity was beneath the Jedi, he supposed, but he'd forgotten about the other Jedi in the room and thought it free to air his grievances.


OOC: Rolled a 23/100 for the interrogation- Moderate fail with some moderate consequence

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

It seemed that just as soon as Tiberius entered the house the Miralukan was exiting. After a quick introduction where she disclosed her name the woman had disappeared out the door. Tiberius eyes followed her out of the house before turning his attention to the Togruta padawan who seemed to be ignoring the knight’s presence. Ruzaan did not look to be in a particularly happy mood.

Not wanting to interrupt the young Togruta’s brooding, Tiberius found the owner of the home and apologized to her for the intrusion into her home. The Togruta woman said that it was perfectly fine and told Tiberius how the woman with the covered face had actually saved them. The conversation was cut short by the cry of alarm that came from Ruzaan.

Tiberius rushed into the room to see the Zygerrian with his jaw clenched onto Ruzaan’s arm with Ruzaan beating the perpetrator in the face. The vice like mouth receded from the now injured arm and the Zygerrian dropped back to the floor. Tiberius went over to Ruzaan and knelt beside him. “Are you okay?” he asked as he inspected the injured arm. It was merely a flesh would, but, assuming Ruzaan would allow it, Tiberius reached out and hovered his hand over the spot where the Zygerrian’s tooth had punctured Ruzaan’s flesh.

The knight had heard Ruzaan’s complaint about trying. As Tiberius used force heal to close up the wound he spoke to the padawan. “Sometime failure is the best teacher. You cannot learn unless you try.” There was a brief pause between the two Jedi before Tiberius again began to speak. “I know you’re probably angry about the slavers, but we will take care of it.”

@Wit @lizziie @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ashla Ti]

Out of context, Malou's revelation might have made her pause, but seeing them fight had already told her everything she needed to know about who they were. She wanted to question what Malou was doing being friends with a Jedi, but this was not the time or the place, so she only responded with a nod.

"Pretty straightforward really," she said in response to Malou's next question, "I take their ship and fly it to their base, catch them by surprise and break from the inside." What she hadn't realized was that their exchange had been loud enough for the Togruta around them to hear, and having heard her words one spoke up, a young girl around about the same age as Ashla herself. "Who are you? You speak like an off-worlder, yet you don't act like one. Why, why do all this?" Ashla fell silent, not sure how to answer, the truth was probably too complicated for any of them to understand. Besides, she had kept the truth bottled in for so long that she wasn't sure she could actually share all of it even if she wanted to. But sometimes a partial truth was better than a lie.

"My name is Ashla Ti," she replied, her voice loud enough to carry through the gathering, "I was four when the slavers took me, stole my life from me and made me live through hell. It took me years, but I survived, and I made my way back home. What they did to me made me stronger, but the cost was too high. And I will never let another pay that price, not the way I had to." She stepped up to the girl, who actually towered over her, but in that moment Ashla felt like she was the one dwarfing over her. "We will hunt them down, and take back everyone they took. We protect what is ours and make them regret the day they ever set foot on Shili. We show everyone that we are not prey, we are hunters!"

A cheer went up at that, and before she could give the word they rushed past the two Sith to board the ship, as many as they were she didn't think they even needed her help. Instead she turned her attention to the girl. "I need you to send word to any neighboring settlements. Tell them what happened here, tell them we are fighting back, and if any want to join they are to come here. They have a day." The girl nodded enthusiastically and gave her a small bow. "Regasa." She whispered as she ran off, the word not one Ashla was familiar with. Turning around to stare at the ship, from where the sounds of a few blasters being fired had been heard before falling silent, Ashla moved so that she was standing next to Malou. "I think," she told Malou in a soft voice that only she could hear, "I'm about to lead a crusade against these slavers. I.." She paused, she had been completely comfortable while addressing all the Togruta, but she was uncertain now that she was speaking to just one. "I know this is too much to ask," she looked away before continuing, "but will you help?"

@lizziie @SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Malou was sure Ashla had questions about her relationship with Ruzaan, but she could explain later. She would explain later if she found the time because she was probably going to need Ashla's help to come up with an excuse.

The Miralukan waited quietly while Ashla addressed the crowds, standing with her shoulders back and her hands clasped behind her. She couldn't help the smile that crept onto her lips. It was cool to see how easily she seemed to commandeer the attention of the crowd. Props.

"Just tell me what you need me to do," was her response to Ashla's uncertain question. She raised a hand to place it on her shoulder, still with a smile on her face. Her voice grew softer and more serious. "You're gonna show these Togruta what it means to take matters into their own hands. "

tags: @Wit @logn2665 @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

The pain alleviated and Ruzaan managed a brief smile of thanks while he was healed. Tiberius' advice was also good advice, and Ruzaan sighed in acknowledgement that the Jedi Knight was correct in that he shouldn't let his emotions get the best of him. He did, however, moodily jerk a thumb in the general direction of the rousing speech being given by Ashla. "This is bigger than a "we" problem right now, though... I should go talk to them." Once again, Malou had subverted his plan; it hadn't come back to haunt them on Kesh, but he was concerned about the fallout this time.

Pushing himself up and off the floor, Ruzaan left the captive Zygerrian behind as he strode out and made his way determinedly over to where Malou and Ashla were having a conversation. "A frontal assault won't work" he said, matter-of-factly. "It'll turn into one massive hostage crisis as soon as we get close to where they're holding captives. That's why I wanted someone on the inside" he said, glancing over at Malou, before fixing his sights on Ashla. He hadn't forgotten the viciousness with which she'd fought.

"And who are you, anyways?" he asked, pointedly. "You're not a Jedi. You may carry a lightsaber, but you let your emotions control you and guide your actions." It was an accusation meant to put her on the defensive more than anything; Ruzaan wasn't about to admit to the fact that he'd just described more than a couple Jedi. "Now you're leading them- my people- down that same path. This isn't about liberation for you; it's about revenge."

@Wit @logn2665 @lizziie

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

Tiberius withdrew his hands as Ruzaan jerked his thumb towards the door. It seemed that the padawan still wanted to be friends with this Malou woman even though it was clear to Tiberius that her and her friend were most likely darkside users, most likely sith. However, Ruzaan had been knocked out for most of the battle, so maybe it wasn’t quite as apparent to him. He watched the young Jedi exit out the front door before pushing himself to his feet to follow after him.

The Zygerrian on the floor let out a laugh. “You can’t stop us. There are too many!” “Shut up.” Tiberius responded calmly reaching out a hand towards the captive slaver and using Morichro on him. The Zygerrian promptly passed out and Tiberius grabbed him by the ankles and dragged him out of the house making sure to his the Zygerrian’s head on each doorway on the way out. Tiberius nodded to their Togruta host and apologized once again for the intrusion into their home.

Tiberius stepped outside just in time to hear the cheering of the crowd. He left the Zygerrian on the door step and began following Ruzaan at a short distance. He stopped short of the trio and listened to the Togruta Jedi talking to the other two force user. A quick shot of adrenaline shot through Tiberius as Ruzaan asked his fellow Togruta who she was. Were things about to get dicey between these two factions? Evidently Ruzaan had seen enough of the battle to notice that at least one of the women in front of him weren’t Jedi.

 

[Ashla Ti]

Ashla turned her head to give Ruz a sideways glance, and a smile appeared on her lips. She had been trained by one who had made her face much worse than the silly accusations he threw her way, had faced way worse and survived. So his attempts at unsettling her did little more than amuse her. "I see you're up," she replied, her voice nonchalant, curious, "woke up just as the danger was past. So typical of a Jedi." She turned now to face him, and the smile melted away as she locked eyes with him.

"I am a Sith," she spoke up, looking him in the eyes, where he would momentarily see her bright blue eyes flash crimson. If he thought she would hide from the truth, well he was greatly mistaken. "Does that scare you Jedi, will you strike me down where I stand because of who I am? Do it, be the hero."

She stepped back from him, and glanced around at the people around them. "I am a Sith, for twelve years I have trained to survive, to never again have to feel the helplessness I felt when I was stolen from my home. There were no Jedi here that day, no valiant hero to sacrifice himself to save my life. And that's what you are," she faced Ruz again, accusation in her eyes, "little boys playing at being heroes. More concerned with your own silly ideals than about doing what's right. Where were you when the slavers struck? Where were you when your] people were being taken away? Arguing morality with your little friends in your temples? Or lying unconscious in a hut while a Sith saved your worthless hide?" She let out a chuckle, shaking her head as she looked away from him. "And what was your great plan? Get captured and let god knows how many others be captured with you? Did you think the slavers would just agree to take you and no one else?" She locked eyes with some of the Togruta, her next words addressed to them. "Does that seem like a sound plan to you? Would you let yourself be captured along with this Jedi so that he could be the hero? Yes, that definitely wouldn't create more hostages, right? And then the mighty Jedi would single handedly spring you free like a hero from legend!"

She turned to give Ruz one last look, one laced with condescension, hatred, and pity. "You had your chance Jedi, and you failed. Go, run back to your temple. And next time, think before you act. Let your mind guide you, not your emotions."

@lizziie @SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

There it was, the revelation. Malou watched the expressions on the faces of the Togruta around them as Ashla spoke, nothing how the initial wide eyes were slowly but surely replaced with the contemplation of furrowed brows. She could almost hear their thoughts in the way their eyes quickly flicked to Ruzaan when Ashla addressed him directly. Would he have put us in danger? they seemed to wonder. Would he have just let the slavers take us?

She was quiet during Ashla's speech, her face carefully crafted into absolute neutrality with her hands casually in her pockets. Malou had wondered from time to time how she would feel once her cover was blown to Ruzaan. Would she be sad or relieved? Irritated or amused? It turned out she didn't really feel much of anything, and other than the inconvenience of said blown cover, she wasn't upset about it. After all, despite enjoying his company, Malou had sought out her friendship with Ruzaan for the purpose of trying to get a foot in the door with the Jedi. What could she learn, and what could she get him to tell her?

"She's right, Ruzaan." Malou spoke only moments after Ashla finished so she didn't lose the opportunity to get in before the inevitable retort. "What did you want us to do while you were taken onto the ship? Let others get captured with you, and end up who knows where instead, traumatized and separated from their families?" It was clear as day, even to the blind woman, that the Togruta here were fed up and willing to fight back. All it took was a voice, Ashla, to unit them. They didn't need to be sacrificed against their will for someone else's heroism if they were willing to put themselves in danger and take matters into their own hands. "They have a right to revenge. Don't deny them the opportunity to avenge all of their families who have been taken."

With that, Malou would grow silent again. She didn't tilt her head to face the Togruta Jedi as she usually did but instead let it face in whichever direction her body was. He knew well enough she didn't agree with the morals the Jedi held, but her Sight watched for his reaction. Tiberius was watched too, as he was the only one here she wasn't familiar with.

tags: @Wit @SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

“I am a Sith”. The words echoed in Ruzaan’s mind, along with the dripping contempt that followed. Ashla accused him of playing at being a hero, of inaction, of helplessness. There was some truth to her words, he conceded, but just as much was her perspective limiting what she saw in him. Still, her words were painful.

All of that paled in comparison, though, when Malou spoke up, agreeing with Ashla. The hairs on the back of Ruzaan’s neck shot straight up as he regarded his friend with a new perspective. Use of the Force. Interest in Sith, especially Sith history. Friends with a Sith. Now, Malou was espousing the same destructive course of action that Ashla had; revenge. The crushing realization that Malou was more than likely a Sith was buoyed by the hope that Malou hadn’t confirmed it one way or another; maybe she just kept dangerous friends. That would need to be sorted out sooner rather than later, but all Ruzaan could feel in the moment was the stinging barbs that Ashla had hurled at him.

“When the Zygerrians were raiding Shili, I was here” he replied quietly, his voice quavering slightly but growing in strength as he continued. “I have been a Togruta far longer than I have been a Jedi. I... I remember the times that the Zygerrians attacked, and I understand and feel the pain, sorrow, and anger that follows.” These were uncomfortable feelings, but just because he didn’t like them didn’t mean that they shouldn’t be named. There is emotion, yet peace. Suddenly, he grew aware that he was addressing the crowd and not just Ashla and Malou, and he raised his voice to be heard. “My plan- which I explained to you and Malou earlier- was to purposely get captured to allow the Zygerrian’s transport to be tracked back to their main base.”

There was a murmur amongst the surrounding people as he seemingly confirmed Ashla’s accusation, but Ruzaan wasn’t finished yet. “The Zygerrians take advantage of our communal nature by using hostages and other scare tactics to put down uprisings just like this. You think this is the first time a community has decided to fight back?” Ruzaan let his gaze pan over the assembly, drawing on his lived experience on Shili; experience that Ashla didn’t have. “So yes, I planned to put myself into harm’s way, knowing that when you came for your children a that blaster would be placed against my head and not theirs. A Jedi’s life is sacrifice, and I will lay mine down for these people if need be. Can you say the same, Sith?” A question that he wouldn't give her the space to respond to, and one that would allow him to focus back on Ashla; eye to eye, face to face.

"I am truly sorry about what happened to you. I am not going to try and kill you; while I disagree with how you are handling this, I am willing to work with you to free these people. Our people. What do you say?"

@Wit @lizziie @logn2665

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

There it was, the answer that Tiberius was looking for. The female Toruta was a Sith after all. It was a logical conclusion then that Malou was also a Sith, but was she going to admit it? Ruzaan seemed surprised by this revelation. Had he really not known? Perhaps it was his inexperience that made him ignorant to this fact, or perhaps his friend, Malou was just good at hiding her true colors.

Throughout her discourse it was clear that Ashla had a contempt for the Jedi as a whole. The hatred dripped from her mouth as she spoke. She was correct, there were no Jedi to save her on that day that she was taken from her home. How were the Jedi to know what was going on then? Had anyone alerted them to the slavers activity all those years ago? It was unlikely, but there were Jedi here now who would help the people of Shili defeat the slavers

Things seemed to be getting heated during Ashla’s monologue. Would the Sith strike now that the Jedi’s identities were known? Tiberius did not know, but was prepared for anything. He reached out with the force. Feeling all around him the reactions of both the Sith and Ruzaan incase either side decided to initiate an attack.

Tiberius remained in his place at the edge of the circle that began to formed around the offworlders. Malou was next to speak. She reprimanded the young Jedi padawan for his actions. Apparently he had tried to get himself captured in an attempt to catch the slavers. A plan that Tiberius was just now learning about. Not the smartest of plans, but resourceful to say the least.

This was clearly a turning point in Ruzaan’s life. Was he going to lose a friend because of their allegiances? Only time would tell. As Tiberius stood there at the edge of the circle he realized that he was not the protagonist in this story but a supporting role, and he would support Ruzaan on this adventure. Although joining forces with the sith was a highly unorthodox choice.

@Wit @lizziie @SlagathorTheUnknown

 

[Ashla Ti]

Ashla's response to the padawan was simple, as she titled her head for a moment as if contemplating his words. "Sacrifice? Very well, they put a gun to your head, one shot and you're dead. Now what? Who gains from your sacrifice?" She let her words linger for a second, before shaking her head in disappointment. "A worthless sacrifice helps no one but you Jedi, what good are you to anyone if you're dead? Fight for yourself, so that you can fight for others. We're only of any use to anyone while we live. So no, my life is not sacrifice, my life is worth more than that." She raised a hand to point at the gathered Togruta as she continued. "Their life is worth more than that. Remember that," she continued, her voice just a touch gentler as she poked a finger at his chest, "remember that before you throw your life away in the pursuit of a worthless ideal. Your heart might be in the right place, but don't let it lead you to your own death. And till you overcome that weakness you have no place in this fight. Go back to your temple, find yourself, and I'll make sure that our people are safe."

With that she turned away, making for the ship but stopped as she crossed Malou. "You might trust him, but I don't. Not because he's a Jedi, but because of what I saw today. I cannot risk another stunt like that putting anyone else in danger." She raised her voice then, addressing everyone present. "I am not ordering any of you to follow me, but I am going to do this. Follow if you will, stay if you must."

With that she made for the ship, provided neither of the Jedi tried to stop her, heading for the bridge to get a feel for the ship before it was time to leave.

@lizziie @SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665

 

[Ruzaan Kai]

By the Force, this Sith was aggravating! Not only did she make a good point about taking better care of himself, she was treating him like a liability. He hated when people did that, and the gentle finger poke to his chest felt as if it was weighty enough to knock him over. "Who said anything about me letting them kill me?" he said, indignant. "I can take care of myself!" Did she think he was going to just stand there and die dramatically? As if! And that she seemed to think that he was going to go running back to the temple just because she said so?

He fell in beside Ashla as she turned and headed towards the ship, refusing to just be dismissed like that. "And that 'worthless ideal' you keep nagging on better known as 'seeing these families reunited'... or did you forget that this is a rescue mission and not a revenge mission?" he asked, sarcastically. By now they were fully inside the ship, and Ruzaan's voice dropped to a more quiet, serious tone. He made sure he had Ashla's attention before he continued. "Even if we don't agree on everything, it sounds to me like we can balance each other out. You think I take too many unnecessary risks? Fine. Call me out on it. I can keep you focused on our goal, which is to rescue as many people as we can." Then, it occurred to Ruzaan that he didn't even know who this insufferable Togruta's name was. "I'm Ruzaan, by the way. What's your name? And what's your plan?"



@Wit @lizziie @logn2665

 

[Tiberius Fenric]

The way the two Togrutas argued was like watching two siblings bicker. Tiberius remembered when he and his brother used to have arguments. Although there was never any danger of being impaled on a lightsabers. His brother was also dead now so there hadn’t been much arguing between them for a while now. He missed his brother and wondered what life would be like now if he was still alive.

The crowd started to disperse. Some of them followed after Ashla while other’s disappeared into their own homes. It was clear that the sith had inspired them with her speech. To be honest Tiberius probably have been equally inspired if he was in the shoes of the Togruta people.

Tiberius walked up next to Malou. He wondered if she had felt the same way that he did, like a supporting character in the story of their friends. “Well,” he began, keeping his eyes on Ruzaan and Ashla, not looking at the sith beside him. “It looks like we’ll be teaming up for this one.” A moment passed as he watched the champion and padawan walk towards the ship. He turned his head to look at the Miralukan with her green blindfold on. “Shall we?” With that he began to follow Ruzaan, Ashla and the crowd towards the slaver’s ship.

*This is definitely unconventional* he kept telling himself mentally. What would others of the Order think if they heard that Tiberius had teamed up with the sith? He shook his head in disbelief of what he was about to do. There was still time to turn back, but it was almost as though his feet wouldn’t let him stop.

 

[Malou D'Amaris]

Malou watched Tiberius carefully as he approached her, but since he made no moves to attack, she remained relaxed. Though she hadn't called herself Sith, she had the impression that he trusted her just as much as one. Personally, she had no qualms working with the Jedi as long as things worked out for Ashla in the end.

"Are you bothered by it?" she asked casually, turning to follow Ashla and Ruzaan as Tiberius did. Her face remained stoic, a practiced expression of nobility. Malou was curious to hear his answer though. The only Jedi she'd spoken with before was Ruzaan, and he was a bit younger than her. The Jedi and Sith were ancient enemies, but Malou remembered a time when she would've been happy to receive mentorship from either faction. Her goals were entirely incompatible with the Jedi creed, but she had no hate for them.

tags: @Wit @SlagathorTheUnknown @logn2665