Ask Nar Shaddaa Well, It's Worth a Shot

[Hannibal Grayza]

UNTZ UNTZ UNTZ​

​

It had been a long last few months for Hannibal, what with all the flying around and the explosions and the work done throughout the Outer Rim. He'd been quite busy, the trip to Coruscant in particular having taken a good chunk of his time, but here he was back on the smuggler's moon. The young Knight had once again found himself in a bar on Nar Shaddaa, although this one was really more of a full-sized club. Having packed himself into a passably comfortable corner booth and made himself welcome by purchasing a decently expensive bottle, he was in the middle of one of those forms of meditation his teachers tended to disapprove of.

Listening to synthetic, bassy music in the middle of a crowded area, soaking in the chaos of life through the Living Force. That and alcohol. Sitting on the smooth table before him was a glass bottle of very green something alongside two small glasses, one of which was full. Why two? Well, Hannibal couldn't really tell someone if they were to ask. He did tend to find himself garnering the attention of interesting individuals when he came to places like this, so it paid to be prepared. Besides, more glasses made it look like he was waiting for someone, so casual lookers-on were less likely to bother him.

He was back in a classic outfit, black button up, black pants, black boots, and a very green leather coat that had been repaired and cleaned. His lightsaber was well secure on its mag holster inside the coat, though a recently acquired DE-10 blaster pistol sat openly strapped to his right thigh, glinting in the neon haze of the club. He'd traded two of his older pistols in for it, surprisingly good find considering it was technically in an antique shop. His ID-21 Seeker droid, Ego, floated aimlessly to his left to keep a general eye on things and further discourage excess curiosity.

Hannibal flicked the ash off the end of his ever-present cigarra into the metal ashtray on the table, exhaling a cloud of smoke that swiftly joined the rest. This sort of setting was peaceful to him, even if others found it jarring, and one could pick up a surprising amount of ambient information while meditating in this sort of place.
He sipped his drink and sat there, just enjoying himself, nothing of interest at all. What a nice day.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

What a horrid place to exist, was all the Arcanist could think as he pushed his way through the throbbing crowds of people. Being on Nar Shaddaa, the last thing he wanted to do was actually wear his Arcanist mask, however, so he pushed his way through wearing a survival outfit with rebreather that he'd made use of before. It hid his face, features, and even to an extent his species, which made it so that even if someone saw him wearing the suit they might well have thought that he needed it to survive like a Ubese.

He had intentionally suppressed his presence in the Force simply because he was - yet again - tracking a Jedi. He seemed to be making a habit out of this lately, but the particular Jedi he was after today might actually have some answers for him.

In short order, he found the man in question. He recognized him by sight after having run into him twice, and wasn't sure what to expect. His own lightsaber was hidden away, but he was ready in case he wanted to throw down. That wasn't why the Arcanist had actually come though.

He stopped at the table, looking down through the helmet's visor and watched the man for any indication of reaching for a blaster or saber or something else. He stopped suppressing his presence in the Force now that he was in view, which would give away who he was.

You know who I am, he said, though it wasn't clear whether it was a question or a statement. No doubt the next several seconds and the potential to turn into violence would set the tone of the rest of their meeting... as long or short as that would be. @Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Mid-way through another sip of his drink and a drag on his cigarra, a bit of the unwanted curiosity Hannibal was intentionally avoiding today seemed to manifest itself before his table, taking the form of a man in an armored suit that was giving him some weirdly creepy vibes. This feeling intensified into something familiar not a second later as the figure suppressed its presence in the force and spoke a simple few words. You know who I am.

For kark's sake, it's like they were destined lovers or something at this point. Of course, Hannibal wasn't expecting to come across the man while he was sitting in a club doing nothing, but life was funny that way. His grin slowly widened and he leaned back a bit in his seat, artificial leather creaking at the movement. "So I do! Didn't think you were the party type, though spirits know you like your fireworks." He flashed a playful wink and indicated the bottle on the table lazily with his left, cigarra-occupied hand. "Join me for a drink? Does that bucket of yours happen to include a straw?" he said cheerily, waving his hand at the other side of the booth. His tone was more playful than outright mocking compared to the last couple meetings with no hint of that impish energy he'd been giving off, likely related to the fact the Arcanist wasn't presently toting around a satchel full of explosives this time. The man probably wouldn't know it, but he was about this level of irreverent with most people, especially other Jedi.

He did also very politely switch his cigarra over to his right hand so he could more freely move it around without seeming suspicious, not wanting to give the fellow the impression he was going to try to shoot him under the table or something, something a thigh holster was rather good for. Hannibal scooted the ashtray over to compensate for his new arrangement.

Whether the Arcanist decided to sit on the other side of the booth or remain awkwardly standing in the middle of a club, he'd pour some of the mysterious green fluid from the bottle into the spare glass before speaking again. Despite his casual attitude, he was also on guard. Though his blaster was more annoying to get at with his current arrange, his lightsaber was just fine in it's concealed spot. Personally he thought the ideal would be to not start a duel in the middle of a busy club, but who knows with people these days.

"So... To what do I owe this fun little visit?"

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

The Arcanist wasn't sure what was going to come out of this meeting, but he knew that it'd be great if this Jedi stopped stalking him, so the obvious answer was to counter-stalk and get some things cleared up. Or just kill each other, which was always a very real possibility as well. But if their last meetings were any indication, this guy seemed more interested in mocking him than killing him.

He took the offered seat after a moment, alert to the man potentially attacking him at any moment, but his hands seemed to stay above the table at the least.

Call it curiosity, he said. This wasn't the first Jedi he'd sat down to talk to but some of the questions he had were much better to ask directly to the person who had been causing him problems. From the bantha's mouth, or so the saying went.

Are you a Jedi? he asked bluntly after a moment. The man was a lightsider at the least, and it seemed likely that he was, but assumptions weren't part of the Arcanist's game if they didn't have to be. If the man wasn't a Jedi then this whole conversation might become significantly more interesting anyway. @Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal watched closely as the helmeted man sat himself, sliding the second glass of green liquor closer to the Arcanist's side of the table. The other's man's question was certainly straightforward, but that sort of thing was something Hannibal found helpful in a proper conversation. Dealing with this particular query was another matter entirely, however. His smirk froze in place for a moment, another cycle of pulling on his cigarra and exhaling the smoke preceding a response.

"Ostensibly. I am a Knight of the Jedi Order, yes." An answer far less straightforward than the question asked, his tone quite casually conversational. He arched an eyebrow, tilting his head slightly. "Are you a Sith?" he asked in mimicry of the Arcanist's intonation, just as blunt. He could feel the Dark Side in the other man quite clearly, and there was certainly a lot of talking about Sith and Dark Siders and red lightsabers and other things in the repeated meeting the Jedi had been gathering for lately.

Based on the sorts of civilian-murdering escapades the other individuals and/or groups labeled as possible Dark Siders got up to, it would be interesting if the Arcanist was somehow related. Of course, Hannibal wasn't exactly a typical example of the humble, introspective Jedi himself, so perhaps judgement should be deferred. Stories and rumor rarely matched up to the real thing, after all. As far as he could tell, the Arcanist was only going after nasty criminal types. Even if Hannibal thought his solutions were the wrong flavor, it wasn't exactly the same as burning down a small town or blowing up civilians. Certainly not a Jedi solution, but if anything it felt more like something a bounty hunter might get up to. Minus the ancient robes and mask and pretending to be a Jedi, of course.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

A Sith? Now that was a complicated question. He had always thought that the Sith were a bit misguided like the Jedi. Although he'd come to think that the Legions had lost their way as well and sought to blend a combined view of the Sith and the Legions into one, that didn't make him a proper Sith. His goals weren't about his own self-advancement, though the titles of the ancient Sith could be useful.

I don't think so, he said after a moment with a shrug. It was true from a certain point of view. I'm probably what most would refer to as a Dark Jedi I suppose, but I find labels in general to be limiting. They rarely tell the whole story. I'm sure an ostensible Jedi understands what I mean, he said. The Arcanist found it difficult to fit into any group, and that was likely why he hated labels.

Of course, he had to be careful of precisely what he said because of how the Sith Eternal functioned, but that didn't mean there wasn't some room for conversation still. He glanced down at the drink, but his suit wasn't exactly the ideal device for drinking and just like his last meeting with a Jedi, he had no interest in revealing his face.

So what does an "ostensible" Jedi do about all the crime on Nar Shaddaa? he asked, quite curious. The man hadn't seemed overly bothered by the things the Arcanist was fighting. But perhaps there was some long con that he didn't know about. @Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal leaned forward, methodically putting out his half gone cigarra and replacing it with a fresh one, lighting it with the electric lighter on the table. The Arcanist admitted to being a Dark Jedi of sorts, at least, but that much was more or less obvious. Hannibal didn't much care what label whatever darksiders chose to use. It all seemed very melodramatic to him, freaking out over a title from a bygone era. The masked man wasn't wrong when it came to the limitations of labeling and what they represented. What was Jedi, really, in the end?

What caught his attention, however, was the phrase I don't think so combined with everything else. The Arcanist may understand the supposed difference between a Sith and a Dark Jedi. Thoughts for another time. He turned his attention instead to the returned question, adopting a thoughtful expression for a few moments before responding.

"I seek the solution that provides the most gain with the least risk." he finally said, then took a drink from his glass. "Gather information, learn trends, memorize rivalries and goods traded, that sort of thing. Nar Shaddaa is not riddled with crime, Nar Shaddaa is crime, and to help the people here in the grand scheme of things the ruling classes must be weakened, pitted against each other, distracted, and adjusted as needed." For the course of his elaboration his tone remained relatively light and cheery, as if discussing the weather rather than the political working of a criminal planet. "Everything creates ripples and after-effects. Do too little, nothing changes. Too much, the whole house of cards goes down, burying everyone with it."

Another drink, and drag on his cigarra. "I also help those I can along the way. Big pictures made of little pictures." Hannibal tilted his head slightly, considering the next question. Even though the Arcanist remained as covered as ever, he was still hoping to get some evaluation out of this whole strange experience. He had little doubt the man may follow up on his last answer, considering the Arcanist seemed to prefer direct retribution over complicated planning.

"Why do you wear that Jedi mask?" he asked, referring to the one from the old Temple Guard outfit the Arcanist had somehow put together.

 

[Talak Rand]

Ah, yes, another Jedi talking all about "ripples." Did the Jedi just sit around lakes, tossing stones, and talking about ripples all the time. This was the issue that he had with the Jedi. In many regards he didn't hate the Jedi, and might have even gotten along with many of them, but... they were just way too passive for his tastes.

I don't think we're anywhere near in the vicinity of doing too much, he said as the Jedi finished. The planet was running hard and fast on crime still. Talak wasn't typically one for the Sith Eternal's plan of purging entire planets, but if there was one planet that deserved to be ripped down to its last atom, it was this one.

And if you buried everyone here to save the rest of the galaxy, is it worth it? he queried. This was where his views deviated from the Jedi. They'd let a whole world burn if it meant staying their own hand from killing one person. But that was still a decision of its own.

He thought the Jedi would have his own opinions on that, but didn't avoid answering the question asked of him. It was an odd back and forth questioning. Learning.

Why not wear it? he countered. He liked it. It threw confusion on who he was. Originally he had intended people to think he was a Jedi, but most didn't think that any more. But he had still managed to cast a great deal of doubt on the issue. He wouldn't say all of this, but there was another fact that played into it as well.

I meant what I said: I'm the realization of the Jedi's potential. Call it a call to action. The Jedi should be doing more. I've had more of an impact on the crime on Nar Shaddaa than an entire Order of Jedi. Seems a bit backwards, he said. At face value it may have sounded like an arrogant thing to say, but it also wasn't entirely wrong. Everyone in the Outer Rim knew the mask he wore and on some level feared it. Now, with the bounty on lightsabers it was all the more reason for the Jedi to really get involved in the fight if only for self-preservation.

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal gave what the Arcanist said some fairly serious consideration. It was a serious debate about serious topics, after all, and the young Knight wasn't getting the impression he was a madman. Technically a terrorist, but his targets were exclusively Syndicate assets. Hannibal's issue with what he'd been doing was a little more off-center from that part, but he'd get to that later. First, an answer.

"Certainly we have not done too much, nothing of note at all in fact, and that is an excellent question. At what point does the scale tip too far, would you say? Does the many outweigh the few?" He leaned forward, looking the Arcanist straight in the, well, not so much face as mask plate, but still. "To what degree, and why? A common issue is wounding one to save a few, or even a wounding a large number to protect a group, but in these situations there is an aggressor and a target, a victim. If we had the power to wipe this rotten place out, we'd have the power to save the weak and oppressed from the Syndicates. So my answer is no, it would not be worth it to me."

Some of these thoughts are consideration Hannibal had been mulling over on his own for quite some time, part of the reason he preferred non-lethal takedown over swinging his lightsaber around. Most criminals did not become criminals because they felt like, especially on the smuggler's moon. Cutting off limbs was not his definition of 'helping' these people or the people that suffered at their hands, a concept Oren seemed to have come to realize after his incarceration and a bit of self reflection.

"You're may be right. Perhaps the Jedi should be taking more direct action. But I hesitate to believe you are some 'realization of the Jedi's potential'. The Syndicates are wary of you, and the Jedi, but so are the ordinary people, making our job more difficult. Especially here." He grinned, leaning in again. The Jedi Order was spread quite thin, helping with problems across the galaxy. The size of the issues behind the smuggler's moon were too much for a full government, much less the few that made up the Jedi. They were not soldiers or zealots, for the most part.

"I don't think it's a question of why not. People wear masks to hide something, or because they want to be what it represents. Which are you?" He took a quick drag and exhaled a cloud of smoke away from the table. "If your cause is just and true, why hide your face? Is it because you want to represent what the Jedi should be, to be seen as a force of justice and peace? Or is it because you don't want what you're doing to be attached to your real face? " He leaned back again, delicately grabbing his drink and finishing it off. He was looking forward to the answer to this one, though he once again wished he wasn't wearing a mask in the first place. This conversation was proving far more interesting than most he'd had with Jedi, except perhaps Ash Valentine, a man with a particularly strong dislike towards criminals of all kinds. Hannibal was quite sure if he'd been here there wouldn't have been much of a talk, a thought that briefly amused him.

"I think you get two questions after all that, just to keep it fair." he said, his tone returning to the usual light and airy as he poured himself more of the mysterious green beverage.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

That was a shame. The Arcanist wished that more of the Jedi were willing to make the hard choices. They were so preoccupied with saving everyone that they ended up saving none. In that moment, he realized for himself that in order to save who he could he may have to sacrifice others. It was the cold, hard math of the galaxy that "good" people didn't like to face.

He snorted a bit as the Jedi... was it a reprimand? Perhaps not quite, but he did state that the Arcanist made the Jedi's job more difficult, but he found that entirely too rich not to comment on.

More difficult to do the job you just told me you're not doing? he asked. The Arcanist knew he wasn't perfect. His actions had consequences. Many of the girls he'd freed on Gamorr had been killed in retaliation, but others had gone on to be freed and still continued to fight for the freedom of their sisters. He knew that an innocent man had been killed in one of his attacks on Coruscant, but how many more killers had the Arcanist wiped out at the same time? There was a saying that if you kill a killer the number of killers remained the same. So the Arcanist took it that he had to kill... a few hundred. It was a net galactic gain.

And back to the mask, it seemed.

Can't it be both? Or all of the above? Maybe I want the Syndicates to know that there's someone out there that they should be afraid of. That should make them think twice about the slave they're planning to rape, he practically spat the word. It was clear he'd seen things in his "work" that he couldn't muster any pity for.

Maybe they didn't want to start into a life of crime, but they did. And their victims didn't want to be victims, but they are, he said. He had leaned forward as he said it. There was intensity in his tone, and it was very clear that he wasn't living in a world of ideals. He was living in a world that was dirty and filled with evils all around.

He leaned back as he finished speaking and the intensity in his tone dissipated slightly. And maybe I also want to be able to go to the store without being shot. If everyone knew my face that would become difficult, he said. It was a perfectly practical reason, and it was actually one of the reasons he'd worn a mask in the first place in general.

He sat back and thought about what he wanted to ask next. So you've stepped in to try to stop me from stopping criminals before, he said, a factual statement.

How do you sleep at night if you stopped me and the people that I would have killed went on to kill someone else because I didn't stop them? Because that does happen, he said, not quite as much accusatorially as genuinely curious.

And what do you say to the slaves that I've freed in my work? "Sorry, I really don't think that he should have done that, I support you still being in slavery because he uses ugly means"? he asked. Of course, he knew the Jedi didn't really feel that way, but he didn't support the violence the Arcanist used. The two (freedom and violence) went hand in hand and to pull your punches in a fight like this was to condemn people to horrible fates. @Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal was slightly disappointed by the answers. They sounded very practical, mostly reasonable. The Syndicates being cowed by something was a good thing, and the young Knight wasn't terribly worried about whatever blaster-jockeys the angry Hutt could send after the Order. Despite the initial suspicion of the Jedi brought into being by the Arcanist, he wasn't much seen as a Jedi these days. Perhaps that bit of argument wasn't so accurate.

If anything, his actions seemed to illustrate what Jedi could do if roused to direct action, though Hannibal would not personally choose to blow up some random spice den. It seemed a symbolic act, a target of revenge more than actually doing something useful. It might rattle the gangs, make them cautious, but it didn't actually seem to help anyone. The Hutt's death was something, and the freeing of slaves was admirable despite the slaughter, but it didn't actually stop anything in the grander scale. Clan and gang wars were fought all the time. The situation frustrated him.

At the Arcanist's next series of questions, Hannibal smiled. "There seems to be a misunderstanding," he started, gesturing with his cigarra wielding hand and sending loops of smoke careening through the air around the table. "I didn't step in because of your targets, either time. The first was because a man wearing a Jedi mask turned out to be a darksider, a group of whom had just recently slaughtered a village of innocents by the way, started blowing things up. The second time was because I suspected you to have returned for a repeat act in a significantly more populated area." He paused a brief moment to resume smoking and drinking, the glass clacking sharply against the table. "Plus, your companion was practically oozing blood lust." He was of course referring to Chungus, the masked and muscular man who'd accompanied the Arcanist to the smuggler's port.

"A Jedi's first priority is the preservation of life, though individual interpretation may vary, my own included. Though you use methods I or most Jedi wouldn't, you are not a Jedi and our personal moral standards do not apply. My concern, at least in part, was that your methods were perceived as the same the Order's methods. You could be wearing any mask at all, but you chose to wear that one. As for the spice rats, they may well have been horrible people, but unlike the Hutt and his men their deaths probably didn't really help anyone. Their deaths were without purpose beyond death." He leaned back, ashing his half-gone cigarra and swapping it out for a new one, bringing a moment of silence.

There were many interpretations of the phrase 'use the Force only for defense, never for attack', and Hannibal had taken on a slightly unorthodox one after his time in the galaxy. Though he tried to avoid violence whenever possible and give people the chance to stand down, he also agreed with the concept of taking direct action if it was done in the defense of someone or something else. Spice addicts would simply find someone else to buy from, some other gang would take over that district, and nothing was done. A small pile of corpses and nothing else.

"If you wore another mask and targeted something meaningful, we might even have been on the same side, if only for that." he finally said, leaning forward again. "If you want to protect the people and hurt the Syndicates, why not target spice refineries? Slave transports and mines? When treating disease, it is most effective to treat the cause, not the aftereffects, no?" In Hannibal's opinion, the Hutts and the Syndicates could not be cowed by blowing up a few things they could just as easily replace, individual Hutt deaths aside. An old saying went 'To defeat the rider, cripple the horse.' To weaken them, one should take away the source of their power and influence. It wouldn't matter how many spice dens or smuggler's ports they had if they had no product to move.

"Would you choose to cripple their economy, if given the chance?"

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak's head tilted to the side as the Jedi spoke and when there was a moment, he interrupted.

I'd be perfectly happy to hit the core refinery areas. But you must have been so busy trying to stop me that you missed the refinery equipment and materials I blew up. They were the reason my explosions were so spectacular. That wasn't just a spice den, it was a distribution center, he said, and it wasn't a bluff. It was a warehouse devoted to the refinement and distribution of spice. While there may have been junkies in there as well, it was primarily a dealer's location. It was why Talak had targeted it in the first place.

And it was why Talak felt perfectly justified that his efforts were more than a simple death for death's sake. Maybe it wasn't enough, but "I can never make a difference so why bother trying" was another quitter's argument as far as Talak was concerned.

Sure, it's better to treat the disease, but if you can't, palliative care is better than nothing, he pointed out. He was more than interested in taking care of the underlying pathology, but at this point - and particularly when the operation had started - he was one man. Disrupting the entire Syndicate would be difficult, but to the "symptoms" - the women he had set free like Fancy - his work was all the difference in the galaxy.

Whose economy? The Syndicates? Sure. Contrary to how you try to paint me, my goal is to disrupt their operations however I can. And persistence might still see that goal reached, he said. After all, he was just getting started. Time would see if he could succeed, but he had no intention of throwing in the towel simply because a few people didn't like him.

You keep saying that nothing I'm doing is "meaningful" and this interests me, he said. It interested him because the man was contradicting himself in what he was saying.

If every life matters, and I save a life, then my actions matter, he said. And it was true.

Or is it that every life doesn't actually matter and only in stopping the entire organization do your actions actually matter? he asked. In two out of the three attacks he had executed as the Arcanist, prisoners had been freed. Unfortunately, he couldn't bring up the fourth attack in which even more were freed as it wasn't tied to the Arcanist. Whether any of those prisoners had escaped from the first two attacks he couldn't be sure, but it seemed that everyone missed that it was even done. The fixation was always only on the killing (which admittedly was far more spectacular).

If only bringing down an entire organization is "meaningful" then... aren't all the Jedi just pointless? he asked. Aren't we all? Does seem a little overly dismissive of... well, everyone and everything. Nihilistic maybe? he said with a shrug.

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal suddenly flashed a bright grin, eyes twinkling again, clearly pleased with the Arcanist's answer in some fashion. He hadn't interrupted during his answers at all, instead listening carefully and enjoying his little indulgences. Now Hannibal seemed to be getting somewhere, their little back and forth getting him steadily to the heart of the man behind the mask. Though he'd only met him a few times now, the young Knight felt he'd come to understand a good number of things going on in his head. Not near enough for the whole picture, of course, but it was something.

He leaned forward again at the end of it all, tapping ash off the end of his cigarra into the ashtray as he did. He snapped the fingers of his other hand, still grinning. "You're exactly right, now, aren't you? Even if one can't save everyone all at once, the few you can help are better for it. Preservation of life and defense of the weak and oppressed are important even if only a little at a time is possible." He leaned back in his seat, taking another drink.

"Dismissing the little pictures that make up the bigger picture is folly and sheer arrogance, in my opinion. Slaughter and slavery for the sake of some grand goal is reprehensible in the extreme. Being as we seem to agree on this... Why do you not wear the mantle of Jedi, instead of merely a mask? Why do you share the same cold darkness as those who cut down innocent lives on Mimban? I do so hope you're not related to that group of malconcents, or I fear we'll never be friends."

His tone and expression shifted as he spoke, becoming quite serious near the end, before slipping back into a casual smirk as he pulled from his cigarra. Here was more the sort of point he was trying to get to. He wasn't challenging what the Arcanist was doing so much as what he was. Based on what the masked man had said, he should find the actions of the Knights of Ren to be unacceptable, unless his sense of justice only extended to heinous criminals. Hannibal's senses were sharp, alert even to relatively small reactions he might pick up through the Living Force he was so sensitive to. It was no guarantee but it might give him something, at least.

Unless the man was lying, and Hannibal hadn't been getting the feeling he had, the Arcanist's sense of justice wasn't that far off from his own, or even many Jedi. The only difference lay in the source of their power it seemed. But as Oren said before, no one beyond redemption, and if the Arcanist could be turned away from the destructive path of the Dark then all the better.

Perhaps at the least they could collaborate on a thing or two. Assuming he was willing to wear a different mask, of course.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Talak could sense how satisfied the man seemed, but if anything he'd said had rattled the Sith, then it didn't show. These weren't new questions or questions he'd not asked himself before. He wasn't caught off guard by it because he'd already asked himself these things before. Nor was he trying to hide what he believed about the galaxy.

Lots of reasons. First off, no offense, but most of the Jedi I've seen haven't impressed me with their efforts, he started off. He'd already pointed that out, but for all the Jedi could accomplish, he didn't see that they'd done... anything with their power yet. He wasn't interested in joining a group of passives.

Second, even those of you who might want to do something I suspect would pull your punches. And I suspect this because you've already gone out of your way to stop me, he said. He was out here to kill bad people without mercy or remorse. This wasn't the code of the Jedi to use the Force "only for defense."

And third, while I don't want to neglect the small people, I still recognize that sometimes people die in war. I don't want to hurt innocents if I don't have to but I'm a warrior. Not a peacekeeper, he said. And this was the greatest distinction. He would kill who he had to and while he didn't want to murder senselessly if the death of one would save ten, he would kill the one. The Jedi wouldn't. Perhaps the galaxy needed people who cared about the "one" as well, but he knew it needed people who cared about the "ten." This was where he assumed his own thinking would deviate from the Jedi. The Jedi might try to paint him as a murderer for this, but he was a pragmatist. Choosing to let the ten die by doing nothing was still a choice.

And then there was the fourth reason. The reason he wouldn't say aloud or even allow near the surface of his mind. The fourth reason was that there were only three options for the Sith Eternal: continue as generalized killers, become focalized killers, or be destroyed. If Talak had his option, he would have rather put his people to a good cause than see them senselessly murder or be senselessly murdered.

So I guess the question is how long until the Jedi really start doing something? he asked. The Jedi already implied that he wanted to get working, but was the rest of the Order behind him? And if they were, what would they actually do? Or would they just hold an enclave and talk about it? @Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal started laughing after the last question, swinging his right leg up onto the available side of the rounded bench seat to adjust his position. The Arcanist was certainly opinionated, but he wasn't wrong. As much as Hannibal personally believed the Jedi to be peacekeepers as opposed to lawmen, they had been rather more focused on other sorts of galactic issues as sort of spiritual support specialists, with some exceptions. They weren't well known for their numbers or willingness to directly engage the Syndicates.

"Warriors and peacekeeper. I see." He grew silent for a minute, thinking to himself. He had hesitated on taking certain steps due to the potential after effects, the ripples, the whatever one wanted to call it. He was careful with his lightsaber and just as careful with how he helped others. Careful with how what he did might affect the things negatively to create a net loss. Perhaps he was overthinking it. While no one was beyond redemption, and he would prefer to avoid violence or death if he could, that didn't mean he should not act. The Arcanist made at least some good points, he supposed. But he also supposed it was thinking of those things that made him a Jedi.

"I suppose you aren't much of a peacekeeper, if you say you're not. Just know that some peacekeepers are warriors, too." He winked, then reached over to a datapad to check the time. "As for your last question... Soon, I think. Very soon. If you mean here, that is. Maybe we'll run into each other again? It does seem to keep happening."

He tossed his datapad back on the table. "I'll be honest with you. I'm no longer interested in your criminal manhunts, and probably won't bother stopping you unless you try something stupid. I'm much more interested to know if there are more of you. If I recall correctly, you had some friends with you in your media debut, no?"

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

For one reason or another, Talak half expected the man to try to stab him then and there. Perhaps it was his own paranoia or a tremor in the Force, but he felt suddenly on edge before the feeling passed. It seemed to be a false alarm and nothing more.

He found the Jedi's lack of distinction between peacekeeper and warrior to be interesting. He had always been under the impression that the Jedi didn't see themselves as soldiers, but perhaps he was wrong about that.

And just when I'd grown accustomed to your stalking, he quipped as the man said that he wouldn't be hunting him any longer. Talak had no interest in killing innocent people, though he did recognize that sometimes accidents happened.

Sure, I have a couple of friends, is that so shocking? he asked. The Jedi already knew that there were others he had worked with, but he wasn't going to volunteer information about the Sith Eternal. Technically speaking, he hadn't been asked about it.

Plenty of people in the galaxy think that criminals should be put in their place. I hope to inspire more people, he said. A galaxy full of vigilantes might not be great and might even eventually turn into just a galaxy full of criminals, but they were far from having too few criminals and too many vigilantes right now.

Let's revert back to a simple one. Do you have a name or do I have to keep calling you "Jedi"? he asked. @Mr. Teatime

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal tilted his head at the masked man, fairly certain there was probably quite a bit he'd not said, but let it go. It's not like he could force the Arcanist to give him his backstory. He didn't much seem the monologuing villain type, unfortunately. He supposed he'd have to look into the footage himself to get the answers he was looking for.

"Don't take it personally, Masky. It's not you, it's me." he joked back, briefly adopting a mock sad expression before slipping back. Sure the criminal syndicates could use a good kick in the ass, but Hannibal felt he may never stop thinking about the little details. He was just that sort of guy. Besides, going too far with the scale was how tyrants came to be. One should be careful.

At the request of a name he grinned wider and, twirling his hand in a theatrical fashion, gave a small bow. "Why, I am none other than Sir Roderick von Fontlebottom the Magnificent Bastard, Duke of Dickington, at your service!" he blustered in possibly the worst approximation of a Core accent a human mouth could possibly produce, clashing horribly with his usual mix of Naboo and Morellian, but it quickly returned to normal. "But you may call me Hannibal. Do I get a real name, or am I going to have to keep going with Masky Mcbombsalot the Magic Man?" he laughed again, apparently amused at his game of titles, and sipped at his violently green drink.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

Hannibal may not have been able to see Talak's face, but the complete silence as he delivered his... blustering declaration gave the distinct impression that he was dreadfully unamused. Talak certainly had a bit of a killjoy streak to him at times, but he was playing the part of galactic villain and hunter of criminals, so there were certain expectations.

Hannibal seemed much more approachable as far as names went.

The question of Talak's own name wasn't a shock, but his real name wasn't something he was going to give. Oren had asked Talak to take his mask off in their meetings, and he received a polite "lol no." It remained to be seen whether Hannibal was satisfied with the name everyone else had. After all, the Arcanist was the name everyone knew him by. There was no benefit in having Talak's real name except to cause him harm.

The Arcanist, he said. Obviously it wasn't the true name, but it was what people knew him by. It was also the name that more people were likely to come to know in future days.

He paused after he said it, but had little more to question the Jedi about right now. What he did wonder was if the two of them had a use for one another in the future.

We may still be of benefit to one another. Our goals may not be as different as they appear, he said. The statement was as much to test the waters as anything. Even if the answer was a "no" there was no harm to having had the conversation. He'd learned and not given away anything he wasn't comfortable with. Win win.

 

[Hannibal Grayza]

Hannibal could almost literally feel the silent awkwardness, steadfastly grinning throughout as the moment passed. Unlike certain people, the young Knight had no issues giving out his name. He was just going to do his damndest to annoy the hell out of the Arcanist first, which is what he usually did anyway.

He was a little annoyed he didn't get anything even resembling a name, but unsurprised. He was trying to keep his identity a secret after all. Understandable, as Hannibal would absolutely find a way to use his name to find out a dozen other things about the man. At least it could be said the Arcanist wasn't a foolish man.

He snapped his fingers once and tutted playfully, "The Arcanist is a title, Masky, not who you are. That's what the the in the front means." Hannibal supposed he would just have to go with Masky Mcbombsalot for now. Arcanist was a bit too serious for his taste. Hannibal doubted he could even do magic. He didn't seem like a man with the patience for card tricks.

"Maybe so. I'm in the business of precision surgery, but even surgery often requires a good old fashioned bone saw, so to speak. Did you have something specific in mind?" he asked, leaning forward conspiratorially.

@Phoenix

 

[Talak Rand]

He could tell that Hannibal wasn't particularly happy with his answer just like Oren hadn't been overly happy about not seeing his face. These Jedi either thought he was an idiot or they were far too trusting. Possibly both.

It didn't stop him from countering the man's claim. Isn't it? he said, as soon as the man said that it wasn't who he was. The Arcanist was the identity that everyone knew. It was what he publicly identified himself as. It even made up a part of him that he was terrified of.

It's not who we are underneath, but what we do that defines us, he said. He thought he might have heard that in a holomovie somewhere once, but he wasn't sure. It was apt, though.

Let's just say that in the not-so-distant future I might be able to throw you a bone for your bone saw, he said. He didn't want to give away too much now, but there was a good chance that it would result in a lot of answers for the Jedi Order.

But if you're not planning to kill me anymore, then waiting shouldn't be too difficult, he said. Who knows, maybe we'll even end up killing some Syndicate people side-by-side, he said. For some reason that struck him as ironic. He'd probably have to wear a different disguise to divert attention from his own people thinking he was working with a Jedi. Talak's web was unbelievably tangled.