Rise of a Knight

[Kuran]

“So tell me, what do you think a Jedi's most valuable skill is?”

Juisk spoke up almost immediatley.

"To preserve peac-"

He stopped for a moment, thinking. If the master had wanted a rote response, trained to him from his earliest days as a youngling, she would have found a holocron. No, this was, at least in his eyes, an invitation. More to express what he knew and believed than what the textbook told him.

"Our most valuable skill is use of the force itself. We are negotiators, mediators. But any trained diplomat can do this. We are peacekeepers, Planetary security is suited for such a task. We are guardians. But it is through the force, our skill and use of it, that we can excel in all of these roles.

He hesitated for a moment before going on.

"But the other skills that we train and use are equally important. Without our mastery of lightsaber forms, we could not protect as well as we do. Without negotiation skills we could not serve as mediators or diplomats. I suppose that my answer would be that the most valuable skill we have is to know how and when to use these skills."

 

[Corvis]

“Very astute.” she said with a nod, “You certainly do seem very devoted to the mindset of the Jedi.” She observed, musing slightly at how odd that seemed to be these days. Far to many would be-Jedi walked about with dreams of being a galactic hero or to focused on their own demons to look outwards. She took a deep breath, kinetically flipping the training saber's internal switch back on and it's power setting to full. “Keep that training saber, by the way. You'll be using it until you finish constructing your own.”

She lead them back down the hallway, “At the end of the day, we simply exist the serve the greater good of the galaxy. And to do that, we have the Force as our ally.” she emphasized her last statement as the turned into a dark room, dimly illuminated by the vague glow of candle light. She dropped down in the center of the room, drawing a deep breath she echoed the words her own master had asked her years ago. “Tell me, Juisk, have you ever truly meditated?”

 

[Kuran]

Juisk shook his head, eyes becoming accustomed to the darkened room.

"I've done what most people would describe as meditation,clearing of the mind and so on. But a true, jedi meditative period? No.

He had tried of course. But somehow it had never quite worked.

 

[Corvis]

“I figured as much.” thought the words themselves were ominous, her tone was light, taking any sting that may have been found in the words out. “It's a difficult thing to do, especially the first few times.” she smiles, “We are luminous beings of energy, not crude constructs of matter. In order to truly mediate, you must forget your body.”

She takes a breath, focusing her awareness on Juisk once again, projecting her thoughts into has head. “Come, kneel. Focus your awareness on me. Project your thoughts as though they were words.”

 

[Kuran]

Juisk nodded and sat down on his knees, reaching out in the force towards his master. He had done this before, but never with another jedi, and the feeling was much more intense, almost too much.

He focused on projecting his thoughts into her mind without probing too much.

"Li...Like this?"

 

[Corvis]

Cnile let wave of approval flow back through the Force, “Yes, exactly.” she said. Cnile guided his consciousness, urging him to expand with her and take in the entire temple district. “This is but a small fraction of a piece of what the Force is. And even so, it's overwhelming.” the words echoing through both of their heads.

“As a Jedi, you must be able to accept it, and to comprehend it. This will come with time, but it begins with this first steps.” she focused on a small alley way, only a few blocks from the temple. Danger and fear radiated from it like a strobe in the darkness, “The role of the vigilante is not that of the Jedi, but tonight it suits our purpose.”

She stands up, her eyes falling upon the door once more. “Go there, use the skills you have learned today to make it there in all possible haste. Once you arrive, handle the situation as you see fit.” She smiled, “I will be watching.”

((Go ahead and make your way across the city, once you get there, I'll NPC what you find.))

 

[Kuran]

((Gotcha))

Juisk nodded and, not wishing to loose any time, headed off at a sprint out of the storage room and proceeded through the corridors, giving himself more speed through empowering his legs with the force, letting it flow through his veins and muscles, propelling him onwards.

---

He reached the main entrance of the temple, barley pausing to nod a greeting to the duty padawan, a clan mate of his. He resumed his accelerated run, down step after step, hurtling down the main walkway until he reached the entrance to the alleyway that was radiating fear and anger. Curshing slightly that he had forgotten his dark hooded robe and was wearing his tan tunic instead, he procedded with caution into the darkness, questing out with the force as he moved through the shadows.

 

[Corvis]

Winding through increasingly darker alleys, Cnile shadowed her Padawan. Twice she felt a group of urban predators, muggers or some such, attempt to close in on Juisk. While she had no doubt that he could handle himself against them, this foray into the city was not about testing his combat skills. With a flicker of the Force and a mild suggestion, they decided against taking action and turned away.

As he neared the soon to be frenzied situation she had guided him towards, Cnile took a side street and ran ahead of him. She grimaced as she gazed across the wide airspeeder boulevard. She had not meant to have so much distance between herself and the situation, his would be for Juisk to handle himself. She had traced the impending sense of danger to an Anzati walking through the humid night air in a bulky coat. Running through a sensory enhancement technique, she studied him. Her grimace grew as she spied the wiring and plastic surfaces that were indicative of a bomb.

As the Anzanti turned and walked into one of the districts hospital, Cnile broke into a full run. She knew she wouldn't make it in time, but she would at least be there to see the aftermath. She'd do all she could to help them.

****

The Anzati tossed his coat aside, his bomb in full view of the lobby's denizens. Brandishing the detonator in his hand, he knew it would distract all but the trained eye from the heart-beat sensor wired into the vest as a secondary trigger. “The Republic has failed us!” he screamed, his words a chopped Basic with a heavy accent through which the combined sense of fear, hurt, and anger could be heard. “They fight wars light years away, and yet let cancer fester in their very heart. The--”

His sentence was cut short as he snapped his head towards the room's new occupant, “Jetii.” he hissed under his breath. “You are not wanted here. Leave! Now!”

((Bit of OOC info, Anzati are an Force resistant species. Bomb is large enough to take out the entire building, and has two triggers, detonator and heart-beat sensor. You can enter however you want, but the Anzati does notice you. Until this issues is resolved, I'm going to be Rping the Anzati. Then I'll bring Cnile back in. ))

 

[Kuran]

(You're going to enjoy torturing me with this;p)

Juisk had tailed the man, who he now saw was an Anzati. Had noticed the slight twist in his walk that indicated he was carrying something heavy. But, truth be told, he hadn't been thinking bomb.

“Jetii.You are not wanted here. Leave! Now!”

Juisk held his hands up in a placatory manner, but didn't move back. He held his ground.

"Now, just take it easy friend. You look to me like the type of sentient who dosen't go around blowing up hospitals as a habit. So there's something wrong. You're upset. Tell me what troubles you sir, and perhaps we can resolve this without any bloodshed."

 

[Corvis]

((Oh yes, yes I am. sorry about the delays btw. Xbox is distracting. ))

“You think you know anything!” the Anzati screamed, his proboscis extending as he bellowed the last syllable. He retreated slightly towards the doors leading towards one of the hospital's wings. “No! It's too late! Too late for you so called guardians of justice to do your job now!”

 

[Kuran]

(I understand completly;p)

Juisk kept his hand up, making it very clear that he wasn't holding anything, and keeping them far from his lightsaber.

"Okay, fair enough. You don't like the republic, or Jedi. But what is blowing up a hospital going to do? Surley you don't want a lot of innocent people to die, you seem a more reasonable man than that. So why don't you deactivate that bomb, and we can talk, just you and I."

 

[Corvis]

The Anzati's eyes darted back and forth across the room, as he slowly moved deeper into the hospital. "It's not about them. It's about him." He spat the word out as though it offended him, gritting his teeth as he finished. "He's here. After all he's done, everyone he's hurt, they just brought him here and started treating him. I can't let them do that."

 

[Kuran]

We're starting to get somewhere....

Juisk nodded reassuringly. "Who is it that's made you feel like this? Listen, why don't you stop moving for a minute, and we can talk about this, okay?"

 

[Corvis]

“I said no!” his voice cracked as he screamed, “If you stop me now, they'll move him. Let him get away.” The Anzati kept moving, he obviously had a location in mind, “Leave now Jedi. Save those you can. He must pay, and you will not stop me.”

 

[Kuran]

Juisk nodded understandingly, but kept the same distance between himself and the Anzati.

I'll tell you what, how about we make a deal. You stop walking, and so will I, and I will personally guarantee you that whoever it is will not be moved at all. Okay?"

He decided to try a bit more.

"Look, you don't want to die, and you don't want a lot of innocent people to die. See that door to your left there?" He indicated a door beside the man with a finger, hands still kept up at about eye level."You know who's in there? A little twi'lek girl. Seven years old. Her parents brought here in because she has a runny nose. Now, this hospital is crowded with patients, average, normal people. Do you really want to kill dozens, maybe even hundreds, of innocent people, just to get revenge on one person?


Truth be told, Juisk didn't know what the little girl was in for, all he could feel was that it was a young girl, probably a twi'lek. But the fact remained, the hospital was packed.

 

[Corvis]

“I'm not stopping you from saving her.” he said, resolute in that he would reach his destination. “As for my life, it's already over, thanks to him and what he did.” He bit his lip at the statement, the anger welling up within him as he tightened his grip on the detonator. “I'm going to his room, and I'm going to stand in there and tell him exactly why I'm gong to kill him.” he took a deep breath, a slight smile coming to his face. “And then I'll end this. You can die with us if you want, or you can save those you can. Your call, Jedi.”

 

[Kuran]

Juisk kept following the man, but motioned for a nurse to start evacuating people, at which point she rushed off, presumably to begin gathering people.

"Okay, you're angry. I can understand, clearly this person has caused you a lot of pain and suffering. So who is it? What did they do that has made you like this?"

 

[Corvis]

“He's the Kuati. The Kuati. He runs the port sector underground. It's easier to list what he hasn't done.” he stumbled slightly as he bumped into a flight of stairs, barely avoiding pressing the detonator. “She just got caught in the crossfire. Crossfire between the Kuati's and some other gang.” he rolled his eyes, as he reached the next floor and continued going up. “And yet look at who ends up getting shipped off to the best hospital on Coruscant.”

 

[Kuran]

Juisk sighed. This was going to be....interesting. Everyone on the planet had heard of the Kuati. He and his gang were notorious.

"You know why he's here though? He's got to be fit to stand trial. Okay, what's your name? I'm Juisk. Now, you may not like Jedi, but surely you know that our word is our bond, yes? Sir, I give you my word as a jedi that the Kuati willbe brought to justice for what he has done. Now, think for a minute. Do you really want to kill him? You set off that bomb, and you, him, and countless innocent people will die. Innocent people, just like you, or just like who you lost, they'll just be caught in the crossfire. Do you really want that?Or do you want him to stand trial? He willbe found guilty, the evidence will be overwhelming, and he'll spend the rest of his life in prision. You know what the prisions of corouscant are like? A living hell. He'll never be happy again. Living out his days in misery and pain. Dosen't that sound better than ending his, yours, and all of these other lives?

Juisk thought about this for a moment. He wasn't trying to get the man angry, or to make light of the fact that the Kuati, if he lived, would be going to prision. But right now his focus was on saving the countless lives all around them.

 

[Corvis]

“A naïve Jedi,” the Anzati let loose a derisive laugh, “Who knew?” he exited the staircase, mulling something over a few more steps before finally stopping. He gazed out the window behind Kuran, the vista of the Coruscant airway playing out behind him. “What makes you think that it'll actually stick? This isn't the first time he's been taken to trial.”