Ask Onderon The Heart of the Issue

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn was so glad to finally be getting away from the Yavin temple to do something. He swore over half the Order just sat around doing nothing all day. Meditation to the end of time while the galaxy was out there burning! Sometimes he really didn't understand the Jedi. They really were more monk-like than actually... knight-like. They should have been called Jedi Monks of the Old Republic.

He stopped musing about that as they ship eased out of hyperspace and moved to set down in the capital of Onderon. There had been a murder of a member of the royal houses, and it had been requested that a Jedi presence be sent to investigate.

Master Aran had agreed to let Varyn come along, and he fidgeted impatiently in the passenger seat. He wasn't very good at "diplmaty" things, but a murder definitely sounded interesting.

So, you've done a lot of these diplomatic type missions before, right? he asked, looking over at Crix. Oh yeah, he'd definitely done things like this before. Varyn was sure.

As the ship set down, a group of guardsman came to the landing pad to greet them, the captain seemingly ecstatic to meet two Jedi for the first time. After all, many still considered the stories of the Jedi to be almost mythical and highly exaggerated.

 

[Crix Aran]

Onderon was far too much jungle for Crix to actually enjoy being there, even if he wasn't currently in the jungle sections of the planet. The damned place had too much Jungle and he had too much bad luck to NOT end up in the Jungles of Onderon at some point or another. Patting his pilot droid on the back for another happy landing (since Crix hadn't been involved in the piloting at all), Crix spotted Varyn kind of twitching in place.

Kid was twitchier than a Lothcat on meth right now, anxious for action and not entirely sure what to do with it when he actually got it no doubt.

Jedi tended to catch more action than was typically healthy after all.

"Absolutely." he declared happily for the Padawan's benefit, smirking ever so slightly as he decided to tease him, "Assassinating a royal was one of my top five mission types as a Padawan."

He made a show of 'realizing' his mistake.

"Oh wait no we're here to investigate and play nice with the diplomats, right?" he gave Varyn a wink, "Don't worry about problems before they arise. These kinds of missions tend to either go really well or really badly - if it's the first type, you'll learn all about how to look like you don't find politicians punchable. If it's the second type? Just make sure that isn't wood."

Crix gestured to the training saber at Varyn's waist for the last bit before straightening his robes out. He had gone ahead and swapped his slightly armoured robes for some tighter, more colourful, robes that tended to go over well with nobility as being less 'poor-looking'. Stepping down the ramp, he plastered on a wide smile of his own to greet the friendly captain of the guards.

"Masters Jedi, it is so wonderful to have you with us today to aid our investigation! The late heir of this most noble House was slain merely a day ago within the wine cellars of this mansion."

There was a joke about it being the butler, in the wine cellar with the knife... but recent events had done a lot to dampen his sense of humor when it came to some of the missions they undertook. The captain of the guard started to lead them into the mansion properly, talking about taking them to see the assembled family first. As he did so, the guards who had accompanied him formed up around them and Crix raised an eyebrow ridge before giving Varyn a brief telepathic message.

Eyes peeled. The guards are acting kind of like what I expected but the family will be the real trick.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn gave Crix a dubious expression as he talked about assassinating politicians. Was he making a joke? Well it certainly wasn't serious, but he didn't think Knights were allowed to make jokes. They were always so... stodgy.

At least you got missions as a Padawan, he grumbled quietly under his breath. While Varyn had been an initiate during the days when Padawans were given more freedom, he'd been robbed of the opportunity to go adventuring for himself without supervision. Now he was required to "always be accompanied by an adult" so to speak. He was seventeen! He'd be an adult on most planets in a year and already was one on many others. And yet he still needed a babysitter, it was unbelievable.

As Crix expanded on what to expect, Varyn decided it was very unhelpful. Had he gotten saddled with the unhelpful Knight? Maybe that meant he wouldn't be watching Varyn as closely either.

Great... he muttered, secretly hoping it would turn out exciting but suddenly doubting he wouldn't be stuck with a bunch of boring paperwork and dumb politicians.

They were greeted by the captain of the guard and led inside, and Varyn took a much closer look around, trying and failing to keep a wide-eyed expression off his face. He'd grown up poor and then gone to the Jedi were he was ultra poor. The grand architecture of the house, the art on the walls, even the fine armor of the guards was all worth more than he typically saw in months.

He jerked slightly when Crix's voice rang out in his mind, unused to having people speak directly into his mind with telepathy. For a moment, Crix would see Varyn looking back at him with a look of intense focus, but nothing was happening.

...work. The rest of the words were lost as Varyn finally figured out how to project the thoughts. I'm not sure he heard me. It's kind of weird, I'm not sure I like people being able to read my thoughts. Ooooo, look at that armor. And that guy's sword! I bet that's got an STX utrasonic generator in it, he thought, not realizing he hadn't really closed the connection he had made with Crix's mind.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Looking back on it... no he actually didn't get a lot of missions as a Padawan. His Master had been very busy with other things during his time as a Padawan so it had led to a lot of tagging along with whatever missions Knights and other Masters were doing at the time. Kind of like how this kid was going to be learning it looked like actually.

Well it had barely screwed Crix up at all so he was sure Varyn would be fine.

"Trust me Varyn - you'll look back fondly on missions that go smoothly." he assured the Padawan with a rueful smile, "If you keep your wits about you, you look back fondly while flying to another one. If you don't it'll be during maintenance on your replacement limbs."

Bit real there but whatever - kid could handle knowing the truths of being a Jedi when there were active Sith in the Galaxy trying to slice them up. He very carefully didn't change his expression from a small smile as Varyn worked to figure out how to use telepathy, both because he didn't want the Padawan to think he was mocking him and because he didn't want to totally give away what they were doing to the guards.

RT78 generator actually, in that model I think. Crix projected to Varyn even as he looked away and continued to make small-talk with the captain of the guard. Relax - I can only hear what you send and you only send when you're focusing on the fact that a connection between our minds exists.

"My Lord and Lady, may I present Jedi Masters Aran and Atrix from the Jedi Order."

The guard captain introduced them and Crix sketched a brief bow to the Lord and Lady in question. By a roaring fireplace, the Lord was leaning with a dejected look on his face while the Lady was sat close to the fire with a handkerchief in hand and make up absolutely pristine for all the mourning dress she was wearing. Further away from the fireplace, sat around a small table, two young teenage girls were equally as pristine in their mourning attire as their mother as they sat drinking coffee with an older teenager who bore a resemblance to the Lord.

Speak to the teens. See if you can get a read on them.

He didn't smile as he approached the Lord and Lady on his own, bowing his head once again as he approached.

"Our condolences to you in your time of grief my Lord and Lady. Though Jedi of our Order believe that death is not the end, I understand that it does little to assuage the sheer grief and sense of injustice that you are suffering through. I want you both to know that my colleague and I shall not rest until you see justice for your son."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Indeed Varyn had been a Jedi long enough to have heard and made many jokes about needing to lose a limb in order to progress through the ranks of the Jedi. The jokes seemed a bit more hollow these days, however, as members of the Order fell under Sith blades one at a time. All the Jedi who had died and he was too young and weak to help them. Someday he would be able to help them.

Varyn was more than a little surprised when Crix responded with a message of his own, not realizing he had still been projecting his thoughts. He smiled awkwardly for a moment before trying to close off the mental bridge, making a note on his mind that that was something he needed to do more immediately in the future.

No way, RT78 is way too clunky to fit in that slim of a handle! That thing fits in like a glove, he objected. Was Crix a weapon junkie too? It didn't matter if it was swords, blasters, sabers, Varyn had an odd fascination with it all, and not just weapons but strategies, skilled warriors of the past, and more. Other Jedi had reprimanded him for it in the past, but how would he become a great knight if he didn't know these things!? It would all make him a better Jedi he was convinced.

As they were introduced as Masters Aran and Atrix, Varyn got that odd mixed feeling of being both proud of someone calling him "Master" and feeling wholly inadequate for the title. Despite his outward appearances, he often wondered how he could ever know as much about the Force or be as calm and serene as the older Jedi in the Order. An imposter.

He gave a bow, following after Crix's lead and then did as he was silently instructed, making his way over to the royal children. He reached out to try to sense their emotions, but promptly got slapped in the face with grief and waves of emotion he wasn't prepared for. They were the same emotions he had experienced the night his mother had died and again when he'd lost his friends at Ajan Kloss. They were not emotions he enjoyed, but he tried to center himself. Tried.

I'm sorry for your loss, he said. I know what it's like to lose family. Are you guys doing okay? he asked. Grief counseling was hardly a specialty of his. He barely knew how to manage his own problems let alone someone else's. He was so under-qualified for this...

Across the room, the stoney faced patriarch of the house looked to Crix. His eyes looked almost empty in a way, as if he were still dealing with the shock of what had happened.

When you find my son's killer, I want you to kill him, the man said. There was no hesitation or concern for who in the family would hear, and his wife made a reaction that broke her otherwise "collected" demeanor she was putting on in an attempt to hide her grief. That's what you Jedi do, right? You bring justice. A life for a life, he said.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix could have spent a lot longer talking to the Padawan about power generators and regulators that could fit into weapons and components that they didn't seem like they should be able to but if he did that they'd be there all day. And as much as it was preferable to spending time around the stuffiest of high society types, he knew they were needed and that meant that they needed to get a move on.

This was a much more serious mission, even if he had given Varyn a little bit of an impression that it was worth less than it was. He didn't want to put a lot of pressure on the kid, not right away. If he was in tune with the emotions of those in the room? He would be able to sense how much was riding on this, he didn't need Crix to tell him that.

"Him, my Lord?" Crix fired back casually to the patriarch with a raised eyeridge, "Do you have reason to suspect it may have been another man? Just trying to establish what we know so far but... justice will be served if it is something I can give you. If they resist and turn violent I may just be required to take their life. If not I shall leave their life to you and your local laws."

If the local laws said the murderer was to be executed it was not the Jedi's way to tell them that they were wrong - though it was perfectly within the Jedi doctrine to refuse to be the one to swing the sword.

Across the room, the siblings of the deceased looked up as Varyn tried to insert himself into their silence. The first thing he would notice through his sense of their emotions was that their emotions seemed muted - either by shock or by insincerity he would not be able to immediately tell as both felt very similar. The sisters turned away from him in silence but the brother spoke up.

"Thank you for your condolences." he said in the kind of tone that spoke of having to say the exact same phrase repeatedly recently, "My sisters haven't said much to anyone since he... since the body was found. They were the ones to find him down there."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn focused on his peers in front of him. It was difficult for him to tell if the things they were feeling were normal or not, and Force Empathy had never really been his strong suit. He'd wanted to close himself off from the feelings of others because, as he'd learned, there was far too much pain in the galaxy.

I'm sorry, that must have been very difficult for you, he said, feeling as though he were simply reciting the proper words to say rather than feeling a deep emotional connection. Dealing with topics like this still made him feel uncomfortable even if he had been where they were sitting.

I know it's probably difficult to talk about, but I want to help find the people who did this. Can you tell me about what happened? he asked, crouching down in front of them rather than towering over them. He wasn't particularly tall yet, but standing over someone who was seated in a chair was always weird and set a poor dynamic for conversations like this. Or at least, that was what he had been told at the Jedi Temple.

Across the room, Crix would be faced with a father who was still reeling from the death of a child, and who wanted vengeance.

"He, she" I don't care. Do I look like I care? I'll bet you it was someone from that wretched House Ortice. They didn't like that our son was going to marry the Princess. They were always jealous of us, he said.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

House Ortice hmm?

Sounded like this was the, sadly, rather typical case of noble houses shanking each other's children for even the smallest edge in their petty rivalries. Crix hadn't dealt with any of them himself but he had heard about them through other Jedi and he was already sick of them he decided in the end. The why didn't matter beyond catching the killer - after that it was just academic as far as Crix was concerned but, well, he was fairly apolitical at the best of times.

"Interesting - had the marriage been announced? Due to happen recently?" he asked with a small frown, "I only ask because the way you speak of House Ortice... well I imagine you would have wanted this hidden from them until there was nothing they could reasonably do to try and prevent it. You couldn't have known that they would go beyond what was reasonable even during such a high stacks political move."

Pandering but nothing too obvious for the Lord or Lady to latch onto as he went fishing for the information.

Across the room, the two daughters of the House shared a look at the Jedi Padawan asked them about what had happened. There was a second or two delay before the daughter to Varyn's right spoke up. Her voice was rather high but held a rasp that suggested she had been crying or screaming recently.

"Why would you believe us? When we told the guards they didn't believe us either." she said, her emotions even duller than before, "It was the Beast Riders."

The brother rolled his eyes and audibly scoffed.

"The Beast Riders have been dwindling since before the Empire - there's no way it could be anything related to them."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn listened to what the other said, not having any visible reaction to the statement about Beast Riders. Mostly because he had no idea what they were or why they were significant. As the brother declared that it was impossible, Varyn got the vague impression that there wasn't a lie in them. Which was going to make things strange and awkward.

Thank you for your answers, he said, bowing his head slightly in respect before stepping back over toward Crix. He was just in time to hear the remainder of the conversation as the man stated that "of course it was public knowledge, such engagements always were."

Varyn tried not to make an "I'm uncomfortable" face as they finished up and he tried to draw Crix's attention as they left the room.

Have you ever heard of something called Beast Riders? he asked in a hushed tone as he pulled out his datapad to start searching for information on them.

The daughters said that's who killed their brother, he continued in hushed tones.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix caught Varyn’s eye and bowed his head to both the Lord and Lady of the House as they answered the last of his questions. They had given him enough information to be getting on with and they had their suspicions that he would do his best to run down. If it was the other House he wouldn’t be surprised (politics was dirty after all) but he would make sure he checked every other option as he went.

“Thank you for your time and the information. My colleague and I will begin at once to see Justice swiftly done.”

Stepping away from the two adults, he waited until Varyn was with him before leaving the room. Part of him was glad to be out of there. As they left, Crix resisted the urge to run a hand over his horns only out of dedication… it would probably look rather unseemly to the guards and the family if the Jedi looked visibly nervous.

But there was something about this whole thing that sat badly in his stomach.

“Beast Riders…?” he muttered, thinking hard, “Vaguely. They were a much bigger deal in the past for Onderon but they were a group of warriors that rode some of the creatures of Onderon into battle I think.”

History wasn’t the strongest suit but he had tried to read up on Onderon prior to selecting it as a training ground for Clove and himself. It was vague and, probably, less useful than a wiki search but still it was a basis to start from.

“Curious.” He frowned deeper, “The mother and father seemed very certain that it was a rival house, House Ortice, striking out when he was publically named as the fiancé for the Princess. Thank you.”

The last he said to one of the guards who handed him the key to the basement levels where the body had been found – it remained to be seen if the murder had also taken place there. As they stepped down the stairs, Crix paused as the lights flickered ominously, the guards having left them at the top of the stairs.

“Hope you’re not afraid of the dark, Varyn…”

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn listened to what Crix said about the Beast Riders and puzzled slightly. They sounded like an interesting group, but one thing stood out to him over the rest as Crix described them.

Were they Force-users? he asked. Such connections with animals could be accomplished with sufficient time, effort, and training, but he also knew that it was simpler when one could use the Force to calm and corral an animal.

He started scrolling through said wiki as he looked for some of the history of what they may now be up against. They sounded... like serious people.

He listened as Crix went on to talk about a rival house, and the Padawan couldn't stop from mentally saying ugh, I hope we don't have to go talk to more nobles. Surely hobnobbing with nobles wasn't what being a Jedi was all about?!

As they arrived at the basement and the lights flickered, Varyn frowned and then headed down into the darkness. Before anyone would know it, everything lit up blue as Varyn activated his training saber and held it up to light his path.

See, Master, not so dark or dangerous, he said, quite proud of himself for not only being able to solve their darkness problem but also for getting an opportunity to use his saber for something.

He started looking around, noting just how many barrels of wine they had done here. He frowned as he looked at the plaque at the bottom of the stairs. Corvo Bianco, home of the finest wine on Onderon: Sangreal. Hm, he said, before proceeding onward and finding the blood stains on the ground where the body had lain.

You don't do psychometry do you? he asked. Varyn certainly didn't, but he'd heard rumors that "more Jedi than usual" could do it these days.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

It was a very good question all things considered. Varyn likely knew that the Jedi could befriend animals through the aide of the Force and Sith could attempt to dominate their minds but, from what he could remember, it wasn't quite as easy when it came to the beast riders. He shook his head.

"Far as I'm aware they were mostly just well trained."

He didn't like to think about how trial and error worked with a Drexl.

As they headed down into the Dark, Crix unknowingly mirrored the Padawan's distaste for dealing with noble houses. Crix's own distaste had it's roots in his own mother's work with people with a lot of credits - she had always said that people with more credits than sense tended to act the worst and his own experiences had kind of shown that to be true. People with blue blood and credits for brain cells were so often assholes that it was hard not to notice a trend emerging.

Crix smirked ever so slightly as Varyn used his lightsaber to light the way. He had been considering trying to turn it into a lesson on Force Sight but he wasn't going to take the win away from the Padawan.

"And a weapon is ready in case we need it. Two birds with one stone." he approved of Varyn's thinking, "Psychometry might be on the rise within the Order but it's not quite that common yet."

He couldn't tell anything about the blood through the Force but one thing he could do was look at the blood stain itself and draw conclusions from that. For starters? He tilted his head to one side slightly.

"... does this blood stain look small to you?" he asked Varyn for his opinion, staring at the stain roughly thirty centimetres in diameter, "The daughters said they found him here and the story so far is that he was killed here but... there's more blood than this in a human body and there's no blood spray around here I can see. Unless they scrubbed the crime scene?"

That wouldn't make any sense.

"Varyn, check if you can find anymore blood around here - maybe if we're lucky we can find a trial."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn was happily oblivious to the fact that he was missing an opportunity for a lesson, and perfectly happy that his use of his lightsaber was approved of! He was worried that he was going to be told it wasn't appropriate, but he felt quite proud of himself for finding a working route.

He couldn't say he was surprised about psychometry - he didn't have it either - but he thought it was worth the ask. Sometimes he was baffled by what the Masters could pull out of their pockets at the drop of a hat.

He knelt down near the blood stain, looking down at his feet so he wouldn't accidentally step in any evidence or anything.

Yeah... uh... maybe he was dragged inside by someone else? Or from somewhere else? he proposed, nodding as Crix suggested he have a look around.

He held his saber up and headed toward one of the far ends of the basement. Then everything went black. Not because it actually got darker, but because Varyn had been hit in the back of the head and everything went black for a moment. As a Jedi he should have sensed it coming, but he was new at this.

He crumpled over as his assailant made a break for the far side of the room, slipping behind one of the wine storage racks before vanishing altogether perhaps into a secret passage.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix was beginning to think that if he spent much more time as a Jedi he was going to need to start taking more courses at university - his droid based courses had come in handy but right now? Right now he was beginning to wonder if there wasn't something to be said about earning some credits in forensics. Crime scenes were something he ended up on a lot of the time so maybe it was worthwhile?

Some good tips and tricks could be useful even if he only ever got "Well meaning amateur" level.

"Carried might be a good bet." he agreed with Varyn with a grimace, "I honestly hope not though... that implies something like planing and that's so much harder for us to deal with."

He was testing some of the blood for how old it was with one of his fingernails (to see how dried it was, thus, how old it was) when he felt something through the Force. It was a brief burst of pain and confusion from Varyn - Crix spun to stand, his lightsaber in his right hand igniting to bring the blue light back up in the area.

Spotting both the assailant and Varyn both, Crix didn't hesitate as he threw himself into a slide to end up beside Varyn. The assailant might be the end of their investigation but Alex and the Order had entrusted Varyn's safety to him and he'd be damned if he let anything happen to the kid. Reaching him, Crix placed a calming hand on his shoulder and reached out with the Force to see if there was major injury to heal up.

"Varyn!" he called out to the padawan, "Varyn are you alright? Speak to me kid, come on."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn groaned and reached up, tenderly touching the rather large contusion on the back of his head before trying to push himself up. Things were still spinning a bit, but he could hear Master Aran asking if he was okay.

Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, he said, his own voice sounding distant. He was angry at himself for being caught out and in pain from his now pounding headache. Go get him! he said. Padawans weren't really supposed to be giving orders, but he didn't want the culprit to escape!

He took a single stumbling step forward before catching himself as the room started to right again. He snatched up his practice saber from the ground and started heading out after the assailant and the Jedi Knight.

The saber flashed on once again to light his way and all he could think about was how he wanted to tackle this guy for hitting him and also in order to redeem himself on being caught off guard.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Well the kid was alright enough to start throwing around orders so he was probably fine - fine enough that if he had been a stricter Jedi he might have given the Padawan a bit of a talking to about the way he had ordered him around. But if there was one thing Crix wasn't it was a strict Jedi. Instead he nodded, patting Varyn once on the shoulder as he took off like a shot in the direction the suspect had fled.

Charging across the room, Crix didn't bother using his lightsaber for light as he instead focused on Force Sight instead. This was part of the reason why he was able to see the trick door for what it was, allowing him to shave off a few precious seconds trying to figure out how to get through it.

Beyond the wine rack was a tunnel, deep, dark and long. Crix was already cursing out the designers of the damned house for adding in what was obviously some kind of escape tunnel. Fortunately for him, the tunnel was a straight line and he was a Jedi. Even with a headstart, the assailant was still within sight.

"Stop!" he commanded between breaths as he sprinted, "Stop or I will stop you!"

The assailant took the time to answer.

"No! Nothing must stop the Master!"

Not ominous at all.

Reaching out with the Force, Crix took a deep breath and muttered to himself. It wasn't like it hadn't warned the guy after all... he Pulled with the Force, yanking the assailant's feet back out from under him and sending him sprawling, face first, into the cold stone of the tunnel. His face all-but exploded with blood from the broken nose and, maybe, several broken teeth but Crix had warned him so he felt little in the way of guilt.

Continuing to run, Crix caught the assailant, the man, as he was managing to get to his knees and tackled him into the side of the wall. Under this extra punishment, the man groaned weakly in pain as Crix grabbed him securely by the collar and under one arm before he began to bodily drag him back down the tunnel in the direction of Varyn.

"Varyn!" he called out to the Padawan as he dragged the weakly struggling man, "Don't think we got a killer but we got a lackey... time to see how well you do at interrogations, kid."

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

He chased the man down the tunnel, only a short distance behind the more senior Knight as he pursued the Padawan's attacker. He was accelerating more and more when Crix managed to flip him forward into a full-on wipeout.

Varyn managed to skid to a halt right behind him so as not to slam into his partner. He moved around, trying not to totally turn his back on Crix but put himself between Crix, the prisoner, and the other end of the hall. It was almost like the Force told him to do it, and he was glad for it.

Something nagged at the back of his mind. Something unseen that told him danger.

Before he had time to really place what it was, a blaster shot tore down the hallway, flying above the Jedi head and striking the roof, sending sparks showering down over them. The second was more accurate, but Varyn's practice saber slammed down, catching the shot and sending it into the floor.

Wow, did he feel like an action hero! He was like one of the great Jedi Warriors of old! The thoughts distracted him just enough that he almost missed the next deflect, barely managing to catch it on his blade before sending it wildly off into the ceiling.

Should we push forward or retreat?! he shouted to Crix as he stood his ground between them.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Sudden blaster bolts was not something that Crix thought that they would need to deal with but, in hindsight, he was probably wrong to assume that. Everything about this damned thing so far had been a misadventure and being stuck in an escape tunnel made it hard even for Jedi to avoid being shot. There were only so many ways to evade being shot and most of them involved movements that were restricted by the confined space.

Worse, the blaster bolts weren’t actually targeting the Jedi.

Crix cursed bluntly as a blaster bolt caught the captured assailant in the shoulder, sending him sprawling and forcing Crix to ignite his own lightsaber to block another blaster bolt sent that way. Varyn was right about one thing – they only had two options. They could either push their way through or they could fall back.

Falling back would keep their captive alive and they’d be able to better interrogate him but pushing forward promised them more of a chance to actually get someone who was more likely to be the actually killer – the captured target wasn’t violent in the least and with their wounds he wasn’t going anywhere.

“Push up.” He told Varyn with a snarl as he brought his own saber up defensively, “Their shots should go over you – I’m going to layer an illusion over us. Hit them hard and fast when we get close.”

Reaching out with the Force, Crix pushed out with the Force, pushing his will out into the Galaxy to take shape. Specifically he was projecting a ‘screen’ of an illusion out ahead of Varyn’s advance down the tunnel, that would make it appear that both Jedi were standing over the prone captured target to protect him. In fact, both Crix and Varyn would be pushing up using the illusion like portable cover.

@Phoenix

 

[Varyn Atrix]

Varyn didn't actually respond as he started pushing forward, becoming vaguely aware of the illusion forming around them. Shots started flying past him as he moved toward the edge of the hall, aiming toward the bodies that weren't actually there.

As he drew close, Varyn saw the being more closely. He wore a mask with red eyes and held a heavy pistol in his hands, slinging shots down the hall.

And if Varyn was close enough to see those details, he was close enough to make a move. He pulled the Force into himself, letting it flow through him as he thrust his left hand forward. It came out like a wave before slapping into the man. It wasn't the bone-crunching blast that a master or councilor could conjure, but it was enough to knock the man backwards off his feet and into the wall like he'd been tackled.

Varyn leapt forward, swinging his saber down and slamming it onto the man's hand only to remember this wasn't actually a real lightsaber. The training saber left burns on the wrist and still knocked the blaster free though, the equivalent of being hit by a hot iron. Not exactly fun.

Just for good measure since the man was still far from out of it, Varyn sent a kick directly into the man's face, eliciting a sickening crunch from his nose.

Meanwhile, their first wounded captive may not have been going anywhere fast but he was certainly making an attempt to get away down the opposite direction of the tunnel.

@Nefieslab

 

[Crix Aran]

Crix was actually fairly impressed with how Varyn was handling himself but Crix also leaped forward to assist the Padawan, dropping the illusion immediately once Varyn had let loose with the Push. The sudden confusion of what had been visually perceivable changing so quickly likely played a small part in why their new assailant was rag-dolled into the wall before Varyn could take advantage of him.

Of course said Padawan was only not responsible for the maiming of the man because of the setting on the lightsaber making maiming impossible - though it did look like the man had gotten into a fistfight with a red hot poker. He didn't envy the man but he wasn't about to take it easy on him either.

With the man reeling from Varyn's kick Crix was able to reach up and grab the man by the throat before slamming the back on his head against the wall hard. Disorientated, the man couldn't resist as Crix tore off the mask-helmet combo that he had been wearing to reveal a male human in his early twenties. His lips were a curious shade of blue but Crix wasn't interested in the shade of lipstick he used.

"You took a shot at a Padawan and I don't take too kindly to that kind of thing." he assured the man as he shook him, "Tell me who sent you! Are you the one who killed the heir?"

The man glared at him before speaking in a language and a tone that sent shivers down Crix's spine unbiden.

"Ri nirdi sûrsona jiso kûts. Dzis ani tnuta!"

Before said man bit down, hard, on something and Crix had enough time to physical push Varyn out of the way before the man exhaled poison into Crix's face. Immediately he dropped the man, dying by the same poison, and backed away, coughing and hacking as he felt the air within his throat and lungs seemingly turning to acid. He needed... he needed to breathe new air, filtered air but he had no filter! He clutched at his throat for a moment before he began to use the Force to filter the air, as best he could, leaving him gasping and heaving against the wall.

He shuddered as he looked to Varyn.

"Sith... High Sith..." he hissed to the Padawan, pained, "This is old... so old..."

@Phoenix