Retribution

[Phantom]

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Kyber Caves
Ilum
@EmilyHuene, @Phantom​

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Redemption, Retribution, and Reformation, all were the same to Cole Jacobs. Over the years he had become the person whom the Jedi Leadership would send the reformers of the Empire, or a Jedi who had fallen and wished for Redemption. He had come to like the job, it gave him a good excuse to keep his home on Ilum, helping Younglings with their first sabers and finding their first crystal. But, he's been away from his home for a few weeks at a time, due to the escalations in the War, but he was excused from duty to come back and reform a certain High Priestess.

Cole awaited outside one of the many entrances to the labyrinth of caves, watching as the prisoner transport vessel landed in front of him. He nodded to the Temple guards who were escorting the woman wrapped in many layers of warmth. "I'll take it from here, gents. She won't be able to do anything to me with those cuffs on." The temple guards looked at each other through their masks, obviously skeptical, but one of them grudgingly handed him the keys to the cuffs, retreating back into the ship as Cole lead the woman into the caves.

He stayed silent while he lead the priestess through the caves, taking the most indirect path so that she wouldn't be able to retrace their path should she escape. When they arrived at the front door of his home, Cole briefly let go of the woman, trusting that she actually wanted to reform and would not run. Cole then opened the door, grabbing the woman's shoulder and lightly pushing her through, directing her to the center of the room and shutting the door.

The first thing that the Priestess would notice, was that the room was significantly warmer than the rest of the planet, she would connect that to the fire crackling on the other side of the room. She would then smell food cooking to her left, Soup and bread. Though she couldn't see it, the domed walls were decorated with furs and stone, effectively insulating the room from the Ice planet.

Walking up to face her directly, Cole silently unshackled her, taking the restraints and trowing them to the ground. This was her chance to escape, to kill Cole and make a run for it, but if she actually wanted to, she'd have to deal with the hundreds of Knights and padawans between Cole's home and the entrance to the caves. Now, it was all her decision to make, this was the first step to retribution, she had to take it, or die trying to escape.

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[EmilyHuene]

Ilum was cold. Freezing winds and chilling snow. It was torture on anyone not used to the frigid temperatures. Especially if you've been Force sensitive your whole life and used its mystical bond to warm yourself. For Ashlyn Sera, this was just the case. The Confessor, as she was known in the Sith, used to visit their own territory of cold, Zakuul. She could even go there without a coat and be perfectly content. That's what made today even worse.

Ashlyn hated being bound. Those accursed shackles on her wrists stole any connection she had to the Force save for a little drop of eyesight. See, the cuffs worked by sensing strain within the person's blood pressure. By attempting to use the Force the cuffs would sense that and send a powerful electrical current through the prisoner's body until they stopped. It wasn't pleasant. Ashlyn would know. She'd just spent hours in a box being tortured by one who claimed to be a Jedi.

Even though the blind Sith could not call upon the Force, the cuffs didn't recognize when the connection was being made subconsciously. The Confessor was so accustomed to seeing with the Force she did so without even trying. As such, the shackles let list the tiniest bit of power through which allowed the Sith to see at least the world directly around her. She could see her feet, her legs, the boots of the Jedi escorting her, but not much else.

"I'll take it from here, gents. She won't be able to do anything to me with those cuffs on."

Obedient like a dog, The Confessor allowed this new Jedi to escort her into the mountain side. She was grateful at first just to get inside because the cold wind finally broke up. It didn't help much for the lingering chill that came out from all the walls, but at least now she wasn't afraid of losing her nose which was red and chapped, the same as her cheeks.

After a long detour he finally brought her to the home she'd be staying at for the next.....who knew. Certainly not her. But she couldn't complain. Ashlyn only wanted one thing, and that was to see her soul mate once more. To do that, she had to reform. That was the only way the Ex-Sith would see her. This is what motivated Ashlyn to be a good girl and to obey the Jedi in their instruction. It was the same reason she hadn't tried to escape her imprisonment of the temple guard when she was being tortured.

To her surprise the man who sought to teach her of the Light then removed her restraints. The mystic bond that was the Force came to her once more. The room lit up on her mind as she got a better feel for where she was. Cole would feel her merging with the Force and he'd instantly know her aura apart from anyone else's. Hers was dark. Tainted. Truly immersed in the Dark side of the Force. It would come as no surprise to him why she'd been given the title of High Priestess.

Turning away from him she'd go to the table where a set of silverware was. Her hand hovered over the knife. She could fight him. Slit his throat then make a run for it. These were the thoughts echoing in her head for the Darkness to get her to return to the former glory that she used to be. Ashlyn sat down. The knife was so close....

"May I please have a bowl of that soup?" She would ask innocently.

 

[Phantom]

Cole remained silent, grabbing a bowl and ladling soup into it. He would grab a miniature loaf of bread from the oven, drawing some of the heat from both as he sent them in front of the Priestess. Cole would then walk back to the kitchen and repeat the process for himself. He came back with a smile on his face as he sat down and began eating.

After a moment of silence, Cole glanced up at The Confessor, eyeing her body language and the knife. "I must say, your highness, your self-control is fascinating. I'm honestly quite proud of you, not immediately killing me. You'll come to regret that, I'm sure of it. Most people do." Cole paused for a moment, allowing the woman to process what he was saying. "So, since we'll be spending the next few months together, I figure that you should know my name. I'm Cole Jacobs, I do Stupid in Spades."

 

[EmilyHuene]

The bowl of soup was warm in her hands. She felt better just holding it than trying to eat it. Truth be told she hadn't really recovered her appetite lately. Her latest torment on captivity ruined her desire for food since she was practically only given scraps to eat of off. One would think the Jedi could provide a decent meal for their prisoners. But then again, it's not like she would had remembered it if they had. Anytime she wasn't being interrogated she was drugged. Ashlyn was deemed too dangerous to be left unsupervised.

"I must say, your highness, your self-control is fascinating. I'm honestly quite proud of you, not immediately killing me. You'll come to regret that, I'm sure of it. Most people do."

Even though he expected an answer from her, she did not respond. Ashlyn eyed the knife, but didn't bother picking it up. Instead she would ladle her soup with her spoon and slowly take a bite.

"So, since we'll be spending the next few months together, I figure that you should know my name. I'm Cole Jacobs, I do Stupid in Spades."

"Cole, you should know I have no intention of killing you. So don't crack jokes about my indecision. It took every fiber of my being to turn away from the only religious I knew to be true. And it's gotten me nowhere."

Her thoughts turned to her lover and how she'd turned to the Light in hopes of being with her. But as fate would have it the woman was too busy with the war to see through her transition. Some people never changed. As a Sith Lord who could do whatever she pleased she had no time to see her and now as a Jedi Knight she couldn't even make time to visit. How special she felt.

"I don't even know why I'm here," she would admit to herself aloud.

 

[Phantom]

"You're here because you love Alexia Morr. Yes, I know about you two, it wasn't really that hard to figure out. But take pride in it, you love someone. You love someone so much that you are willing to give up everything that you knew to be with her." Cole looked straight at the Priestess, setting down his spoon. "I have been a Jedi for over a Century, and I have never seen someone willing to reform for such a pure cause. Most of the time it's 'I've seen the error of my ways, I would rather save lives than hurt them,' or some other bullshit. Hell, I joined the Order on dare from my Father's friend."

Cole smirked at the memory before continuing, "But you, you have a true cause, a true light in your life even if that light was concealed in darkness for most of her own. For most people, that's hard to come by, and you should be grateful to her, even if she isn't here right now. She is fighting for the Galaxy, for you." Cole sat back in his chair, smiling to himself as he let the woman mull over everything. "Alright, enough with the sappy shit. We have a big day tomorrow. Your room is the third door on your right, there should be warm pajamas and clothes in the drawer, I tried to guess your size, if their too big or small, let me know and I can get some more clothes brought in for you."

Cole got up and placed his bowl in the sink to be washed later, when the cleaning droid started to make it's rounds around midnight. Cole then walked to the other end of the domed room and walked into his personal quarters, going through his nightly routine before falling asleep.

 

[EmilyHuene]

"You're here because you love Alexia Morr. Yes, I know about you two, it wasn't really that hard to figure out. But take pride in it, you love someone. You love someone so much that you are willing to give up everything that you knew to be with her."

"And what has that gotten me," she said to herself. "That love ruined the relationship I had with my mentor. Alexia always scorned me. She regretted that we were together. I was always a burden to her. But here I am, still chasing her across the galaxy. It's pathetic."

"I have been a Jedi for over a Century, and I have never seen someone willing to reform for such a pure cause. Most of the time it's 'I've seen the error of my ways, I would rather save lives than hurt them,' or some other bullshit. Hell, I joined the Order on dare from my Father's friend...But you, you have a true cause, a true light in your life even if that light was concealed in darkness for most of her own. For most people, that's hard to come by, and you should be grateful to her, even if she isn't here right now. She is fighting for the Galaxy, for you."

Ashlyn appreciated his attempt to cheer her up, but it didn't work. She liked to sulk and feel sorry for herself. She would sigh and pick at her soup some more. She wanted to eat the rest of it, but as she felt earlier her appetite just hadn't come back yet. The bowl was more a hand warmer at this point than a source of nourishment.

"Alright, enough with the sappy shit. We have a big day tomorrow. Your room is the third door on your right, there should be warm pajamas and clothes in the drawer, I tried to guess your size, if their too big or small, let me know and I can get some more clothes brought in for you."

She would offer him a subtle thank you and get up after he left the room. She emptied out her bowl into the trash but would clean both hers and his. Sure a droid could do it. Sure even he could do it. But she wasn't cleaning to impress him or to get on his good side. Ashlyn was only thinking of herself. Meaningless tasks such as cleaning would keep her hands busy and thus her mind occupied. She didn't want to think about where she was.

When the kitchen was cleaned she headed to the third room down the hall and shut the door behind her. Instinctively she scanned the room with the Force for any sort of trap only to find it was all in her imagination. She then stripped down and got into the pajamas he'd gotten for her. Due to her malnutrition, she was smaller than she looked without clothes on so they were a little big on her. But once she got back to her proper weight they'd fit just fine.

Ashlyn would comb out her hair as she sat on her bed and sighed again as she thought about sleeping. Alone. Again. At least she had a bed again. How many months had it been since she slept in a bed? Apparently more than she thought because she feel asleep within a few minutes. Here she thought she was going to be awake all night with her mind tormenting her about her past. She was wrong.

 

[Phantom]

Cole woke up eight hours later, rolling his neck to work out the kinks and then proceeded to walk out into the main Foyer. He noticed that the fire in the fireplace was only smoldering, so he threw some logs on and lit them with the Force, assigning a droid to keep the fire going for the rest of the day. Cole then walked over to the kitchen and began cooking breakfast.

About halfway through cooking the meal, Cole looked up to a knock on his front door, smiling as he opened it to see a small crowd of younglings had formed. He invited them all in and got them seated at the main table before he went back to cooking. He prepared enough eggs, bacon, and bluemilk pancakes to feed a small army; knowing that the younglings would eat at least half of it all.

Their teacher for the day, a Twi'lek woman sat and ate in the kitchen while she talked with Cole. They conversed about what the younglings would be doing today, and the new student that Cole had taken in.

 

[EmilyHuene]

Ashlyn would awake about the time the younglings were arriving. Her eyes opened, but the light still escaped her. She could feel all the little life forces of the Jedi coming her way. It was a curios feeling to her because she'd never met a Padawan, or an initiate for that matter. All of her enemies had always been grown up and ready for war.

The Jedi would whisper to Cole, "You've got a Padawan of your own, Cole? No....That's not what I see. You've taken on another refugee. Is he here now? Does he plan on sleeping the day away?"

She dared not move from her bed. She didn't wish to see them. She didn't want them to see her either. She tried to diminish her Force connection as quietly as she could lest the Jedi master assigned to them decide to investigate. Why was she so afraid? It wasn't for her own benefit. For some reason she was hiding from the kids to keep them naive to the Dark that clung to her so tightly.