Ask Flashpoint Coruscant Why We Fight

[Arla]

Per my OP template, thread is death enabled​

Those who could had fled from Coruscant. Those who couldn't had hid or dug in to fight. And then there were those few who had come to Coruscant to fight. Mostly Jedi who had come to save people and extract those that could be saved. And then there was Arla. She hadn't come to Coruscant to save lives but to kill these creatures that roamed. Not because she was a good person, but because it was a test of her skill, and despite everything that had happened and all her better thoughts on the matter, she was still trying to prove something. Whether it was to herself or to Raze or to the galaxy as a whole, she was out to prove that she was worthy of... her legacy.

It was a fact that was seated deep in her soul and she couldn't shake it. She knew it was foolish, and she knew that it was probably going to get her killed someday if she wasn't careful, but she had to continue to test herself against the most dangerous prey the galaxy had to offer.

Perhaps it was addiction.

None of that mattered now, though. What mattered was that she had taken to the streets to hunt the beings that now lurked among them. The artificial night cycle of the planet seemed to strengthen them in some way, but Arla was unperturbed by hunting amidst the darkness. That was when they were out, so that was when she had come forth.

Garbed in her full hunting regalia, she stalked quietly above the heads of a small pack of the... beings. They weren't her real target - those were the ringleaders she had heard Raze unleashed in all of their power - but these would do for warm up and practice.

The creatures below her looked like they had once been humans, but were now something quite different, their bodies twisted with bone-like projections sticking out all along their hunched backs. It was a fate worse than death, Arla knew.

Deciding she needed more practice with her saber, she eased its unique hilt from her belt and held it in her right hand, preparing to drop on the back of the group as soon as they rounded the corner ahead, looking to vanish again after a few strikes before they could swarm her. A simple strategy, but a sound one when facing a larger enemy force.

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako Krim, Jedi Knight...

That was who Mako had been when he had first come to Coruscant. High on hope and the certainty that this was the place he was meant to be. Certain that he could make a difference here in the deep streets that festered with the darkside's corruption. Monsters lurked in the dark places, stalked in the night. They also stood tall in the day, hungry and hunting. There was no safety anymore.

Coruscant had been consumed by the ravages of abominations, the vile monsters that walked on two's and four's and more's. There were those that looked like monsters, they were the easy ones. They hunted during the night mostly, finding dark corners to tuck themselves away when what light of the day cycle returned, if it returned.

Then there were those that looked like men. That walked and talked and ran and hid just like all the other citizens that hadn't had the luxury of flight. Gaining trust, opening closed doors and gaining entrance to the bolt holes and hideouts of those that remained. But they still hungered just the same as the others and could only maintain the facade of humanity for so long until the dark tore their flesh asunder to reveal the beasts beneath.

There was no safety anymore.

Rolling blackouts gripped the city, the power grid in flux as fewer and fewer hands maintained it. They grew fewer by the day as the beast's hunger took them. Or they found a way off-world. Or they gave in to despair. The cold taste of a blaster barrel and the bite of excited particles was a quick and easy one way ticket out of the hell scape that had become these people's home.

But some remained, some fought. There was no way out, no way forwards except through it. It was for these that Mako lived now. He was still the Jedi that had come to Coruscant, but desperation had a way of changing any man. It was for these that he still held his saber high. It was for these that he stalked the streets that night.

Mako crept through the dark as he approached the location of the sighted pack. It's path had brought it near to one of the safe zones, where people still lived, still survived. Scouts kept a sharp eye out and one had returned with ill news of the pack of abomination's approach. The zone had gone into lockdown, and Mako had gone out to hunt.

He held his lightsaber, unlit but ready, in hand as he crept cautiously towards the pack. He could sense them before he could see them, the stain of their darkness and corruption a sore on the world as they padded along. They would soon be turning the corning ahead of him and he hurried to duck into an alleyway, out of sight. There was no avoiding this confrontation, but there was also no need to run headlong into danger. The Force knew how often Mako did that. It did neither him nor the people back in the safe zone any good if he died out here out of foolishness.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

This pit of despair had become a swirling vortex of energy in the Shadow that was both familiar to Arla and also something that had its own way of obscuring her senses. It heightened some pieces and dampened others, but it also made any presence of Light or goodness stand out almost like a beacon. She may not have known precisely what it was that was the source of this light or even where it was, but even dampened by the darkness that surrounded it, it was unmistakable to Arla. She wondered if the creatures could sense it as well.

In her day since she'd arrived, she had mostly just watched, stalked, and waited. She'd become fairly certain that at least some of these creatures were capable of sensing the Shadow when it was in use, and perhaps even drew on it in some passive way, but she had yet to see any signs of these "leaders" she had heard rumors of.

As the last of the pack approached the corner, she decided it was the time to strike. Despite her observations, she still didn't know quite what it was like to actually face these creatures. How quick were they, really? How strong? How powerful alone?

She'd find out the hard data soon. Her heart was pounding as she dropped down, her feet hitting the pavement, and the black and green lightsaber bursting to life in her hand. She swung it hard and felled two of the creatures before they had even fully managed to turn around before diving back into the current of the Shadow and vanishing in a puff of green flame as the rest of the pack came back around the corner in an attempt to hunt her down.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

The darkness that enveloped Coruscant had a way of shrouding everything. Mako's senses were on high alert as he tucked into the alleyway, hiding behind an old dumpster of long forgotten refuse. Something felt different in the air as he waited, but he couldn't narrow down the feeling and there wasn't time to think about it as he heard the shuffling feet of monstrosities approach the alley entrance. The stench of the dumpster covered his physical smell as it was, but the abomination's shuffling stopped all the same. A loud sniffling sound echoed through the alleyway and a cold sweat broke out on the back of Mako's neck. He unconsciously gripped the unlit lightsaber in his hand tighter, waiting for the opportunity, or to be discovered.

There it was again. The unfamiliar feeling tingling on the edge of his senses. Like cool slimy smoke that refused to be grasped by his perception. And then an unmistakable sound. The snap-hiss of a lightsaber echoing through the streets and an unearthly howl of dying. The form outside the alley turned away and Mako wasn't about to look a gift fathier in the mouth as he burst into action, charging out of the alley silently on the lead abomination's heels as it ran towards the commotion. His lightsaber roared to life mid swing, purple blade snapping into the air as it cut through the back leg of the abomination, coming back around to bisect it's head on the back swing as he charged past it, letting the twisted body fall limp to the ground behind him.

He cut through one more abomination before the others realized his presence, and the oily slick echo through the force was there and gone again as Mako was suddenly alone as he turned the corner. Well, alone except for the remaining pack of abominations that stood over two of their dead as they slowly turned to face him. Twisted faces and hollow eyes glared hungrily at them, gnashing jaws snapping as they spread out around the lone Jedi who stood in their midst. Mako frowned deeply as he set his stance, preparing himself to meet the inevitable charge of the now thinned pack, all questions of who had been here a moment before put to the back of his mind as he prepared to fight for his life, element of surprise lost.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla may have leapt back out into relative safety, but someone else had joined the fighting, the presence declared by the sound of the lightsaber and the faint glow from around the corner of the building.

She maneuvered along the outer fire escape of the building she was on and finally managed to get a view of the man. He looked to be a Pyke, purple saber in hand declaring a likely connection to the Jedi, though in her own experience these days with the "ambiguous" and independent Force-users, it was possible he was nothing in particular. No attachments.

She looked down as the abominations moved in around him, contemplating a moment whether it was worth it to intervene or simply let him fend for himself. She wasn't enthusiastic about jumping down into the fray, and for a moment started preparing to turn away. But networking wasn't unwise, and she was here to hunt. Alone or with someone else, she supposed it made no difference.

Rather than drop back down into the fray, Arla raised her left hand and threw it toward the sky. As she did, spikes of ice burst up from the ground, impaling two of the abominations behind Mako, and giving him the opportunity to focus forward. For the moment, Arla decided to remain at a distance, still unwilling to sacrifice herself for someone else. But help was help, wasn't it?

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako eyes the beasts as they spread out before him. Mindless abominatons twisted into being by the dark side, they still possessed a cruel animal cunning as they eased into pack tactics. He watched sidelong as his flank was enveloped and sighed, letting his frown crease out into... Well the slightly shallower frown that was natural to his face. He let his mind go, slipping into the flow of the force as he breathed evenly. If he was to die this day, then he would return to the force along with the poor souls that were twisted around him.

There was a brief pause as the tension between him and the pack built. They waited until he was fully surrounded before making their move, and it was with a detached surprise that Mako registered the sudden deaths of the two behind him. Perhaps it wasn't his fate to die this day.

The three in front of him launched themselves at him nearly as one, with the center beast lagging just behind the ones on his right and left.

Mako flowed like water, letting the gentle tide of the force guide his movements as he raised his left hand towards the one on his left and stepped to the right. His lightsaber came up, angled along the inside line of the right side beast's leading claw and flicked forwards in the style of Makashi to take the hand off at the wrist. His left hand pulsed as it reached towards the beast on the left, conjuring a solid force to halt it's moment before scooping it up in his grasp.

The tide drew him to the right and he followed, his blade moving from outside the right beasts arm in a circular arc as it continued to lunge towards him, sweeping around to take the head and remaining arm off at the shoulder. His outstretched left curled and pulled with the same momentum to tug the leftward abomination into the path of the center as it followed. The two collided in a tangle of limbs and spines.

Then the tide shifted and so did Mako, surging forwards as his blade continued it's circle to point at the ground as he shifted his footing, facing the tangled foes as he brought his saber up in a continuation of its orbit to point in the direction of the two. The first slain abomination fell through the space he had occupied moments before as his feet brought him surging forwards, his blade snapping forwards in a sharp thrust that impaled both of his remaining foes. They snarled and gurgled for a short moment, crying out briefly as he brought his blade upwards, carving through them like a rising wave. A sharp hiss and scream cut short as he slashed downwards upon them, the sudden crash of the wave before the silence returned.

And then, Mako was alone. He looked down at the pair of tangled bodies, the malformed beings who had once been men. He shook his head as his saber cut off, blade hissing as it receded into the hilt. He looked around, noting the slowly melting ice spikes that impaled the two who had been behind him.

"You can come out." He spoke into the quiet, glancing about the streets and rooftops for his hidden ally. "If you would stand against such as these you have nothing to fear from me."

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla watched the Forcer carve his way through what remained of the packs, demonstrating admirably skill and showing that while these creatures could range up to incredibly large and dangerous, many of them were still quite defeat-able and couldn't stand against someone with proper training.

Arla made no attempt to hide herself as he completed his attack and put away his saber, hoisting herself gracefully over the railing and dropping to the ground almost thirty feet below and landing with in near silence.

Are you a Jedi or do you work independently? she asked. While there were technically other options, she saw those as by far the most probable of the two explanations, and she saw no point in beating around the bush. Ultimately, the answer to her question wouldn't likely change the next five or even ten minutes, but if their paths were intermingled for longer than that, it may change the way of their two fates and what they hoped to accomplish. They may not have the same goals, and even if they did, there was no guarantee that they would have the same methods for getting it.

I am trying to track and kill one of the pack leaders of these things. Whoever is in charge, she said.

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako's eyes settled on his mysterious helper among the fire escapes just as she stepped over and fell to the ground. Silence. The woman moved with a cat like grace as she landed softly and rose to her feet and Mako's eyes gave her a cursory once over as he noted weapons and hunting garb before settling on her face. Her curt question cut like a knife, straight to the point. Mako noted the lightsaber she held and a brow muscle above one eye raised in amusement.

"I am a knight of the Jedi Order." He said with an amused tone, rather unserious as he nodded to the saber that lay unlit in her hand, a mirror to his own.

"I take it you are not." A comment, not a question. The inky darkness he had felt earlier was more than answer to such a question, and she could fill in the blanks wherever she pleased. If she were a Sith, well they were usually more than eager to fill in such blanks, usually with a crimson blade.

"A worthy goal, of a huntress such as yourself." He said with a nod and a hazard of a guess, going off her dress and the subtle tattoos that decorated her face. "I am here to fight alongside those who fight to protect themselves. Our goals are not at odds." He said with a sly smile as he gently put forth that fact. The smile slipped as an unearthly howl echoed in the distance, followed by others.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

A Jedi then. That would make things interesting. Even her brother barely tolerated her and they were related by blood. Maybe that was why he barely tolerated her, she realized. What she represented. What he feared becoming. How much she was like that darker half of her father.

I am not, she confirmed, in typical fashion answering the question that was asked rather than providing additional elaboration.

Hunting these creatures does assist your end as well, she agreed. Have you been hunting here long? Have insights into these creatures? she asked.

Even as she stood there, she could hear the howl of the creature in the distance, but she knew that they were surrounded on every side at any time by these things. The fact that she didn't hear them any closer was - for the moment - encouraging, and she exuded a confidence in her abilities that didn't betray fear at facing the underlings. The leaders, however, seemed to be a different story. From the vague reports she had heard, they were far more dangerous and far more deadly.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

The woman confirmed that she was not, in fact, a Jedi. Otherwise she remained cryptic. Which was good, and bad. Good because they weren't currently crossing sabers. Bad because it meant she could be any number of things that might end up being deadly to a lone Jedi's health in the vast undercity of Coruscant.

For the time being though she seemed to favor talking.

"So it does." He said with a nod. Hunting the creatures, any of them, was a help to his cause. But going after some of the leaders in particular. Perhaps that was the sort of breakthrough he was looking for.

The howls came again, slightly louder and he glanced about for a moment.

"A few weeks, a month. Maybe longer. How long has it been now since the fall?" He asked, his voice betraying a moment of weariness as he pondered the stretch of time since he had first arrived on Coruscant. The depths of the undercity and the chaos and constant contact with death and darkness... It had a way of making time stretch, to be hard to perceive accurately.

"I have some insights. But let us get off this street." He nudged a corpse at his feet as he glanced about again. "Others of their kind will be coming soon, will have sense this fight. It is best we are not here when they arrive, or at least are prepared to ambush them."

With that said, Mako moved for the rooftops, finding a way up with a few short hops to gain a vantage point over the scattering of corpses that lay in the streets.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

A couple of weeks, she answered him. Even to her, time felt somewhat like a blur, and if he had been trapped here since the time that the invasion had started, then he no doubt would have both useful information and also no doubt a wearing on his consciousness. Arla was no stranger to war, stress, or death, but she also knew that being behind enemy lines constantly for weeks had to take its toll.

Arla figured that his hesitation to speaking in the street was a reasonable response, and she opted to follow him up. If he had been here for weeks then he no doubt knew how things were working here. He might even have a lead on where she could find some of these leaders. Or insights on what kind of leaders they had.

She realized that the potential wealth of information he could provide was limitless, and decided to act accordingly.

What can you tell me about them? she asked, leaving an open-ended question for him to answer everything he knew. As they spoke, she followed him along the roofs, slowly descending lower and further away from the sky above. This was such a strange planet to her, ands he still felt so out of place even after all these years being in the galaxy proper.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

A couple of weeks. Mako rubbed his forehead for a moment with a large three fingered hand as he processed the information once he had found the safety of the rooftops.

"It feels like longer." He said after a moment of silence, picking his way across the overhead and keeping eyes on the streets below. "Been here since two days after it all happened." He said, his voice a little hollow. He had come willingly, not been one of the ones trapped from the beginning. He had felt that this was where he was meant to be. And every moment since was a struggle to remember why exactly that was.

Mako led the way deeper into the city, lower, away from the infested upper levels. What had begun as monsters roaming the upper streets and preying on those above had turned into a new nightmare as time had went on, as the denizens of the upper levels had been... Turned. Escaped off world, to the lower levels, or remained and been turned into more of those like the ones he had just killed. He didn't like to dwell on that detail. It was too late for them.

"Too much. Not enough." Mako started as howls echoed from behind them, closer now but still far off. They might have found the bodies by now.

"Sith abominations aren't exactly my focus, but I've learned more about them in the last few weeks than... Well than I ever wanted to know in my life." Mako paused as they came to a vantage point that would give them a distant view of the area from where they had come, and a few of the surrounding areas.

"Ones like those earlier, tough, deadly. But not overly difficult for a Jedi or... Whatever you are, to kill." He pursed his lips thoughtfully for a moment as he ran through some memories. "I've even seen security forces, gangsters, militias, take out small groups of them with enough firepower and organization." Never without losses though, he frowned. And then there were worse things out there.

"There are worse though. Something... New. Sinister. Safe havens torn apart from the inside without any sign of abominations breaking their way in. Monsters in the guise of men, waiting until the most opportune moment to strike." He shuddered at that. He hadn't been there, wasn't sure what he could have done if he had been. The holo-recordings had shown a terrifying monstrosity tearing through the inhabitants of the safe area.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla listened although her distinct notion was that the response was... vague. Maybe it had been that hard to pick up information or maybe it was just the trauma, but it seemed there was still a great deal that wasn't clear about these creatures. Arla had been an Arcane Master in the Sith and since her mother's death had inherited the holocron of Kravos, which gave her a significant leg up in the general abominations department.

She pondered a moment if she should share her information with her new partner or simply keep it for herself. It was likely to raise questions, but the real question was whether Arla cared. Having someone knowledgable at her back was more helpful than someone blind. Add to that the fact that most of her information was rather "generic" though and you had a potentially different problem.

What could she really say? Probably nothing all that useful. Knowing how to create them didn't mean knowing how to control someone else's toys. And that was assuming that Arla could even execute on the theory she had learned. Or wanted to.

Have you gathered other soldiers? she asked. I imagine you must have a camp around here? she said. At the least, it could act as a position for them to strike out against... whatever they were going to strike out against.

Also, what is your name? she asked. She certainly could simply shout "Jedi" at him, but for practical purposes, knowing who she was working with may come in handy in a place like this.

She glanced up to see the black, ichor-like tendrils that clung to the buildings, and she wondered where the corruption spawned from. Did it ooze out of the creatures? She bent down to look more closely at some of it, its thick, vine-like qualities that seemed to ooze with black goo made her tilt her head.

She wondered if it came through from beyond the Veil itself.

Did this spring up from the creatures or on its own? she asked, uncertain if he would know the answer. He may have noticed it growing out of the bodies of some of the dead and spreading across the ground, poisoning plants and water wherever it touched. It was the physical manifestation of toxin.

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako rubbed the back of his neck as he finished speaking, realizing that he had been rather... Vague. It wasn't that he had meant to, rather his thoughts on the matter were so jumbled and it was hard to put any solid information on the abominations into order. There were so many different types of the creatures that tactics and maneuvers that might work against one were useless against another. Only a few tricks were sure shots, and looking at his new companion... Well. He couldn't exactly see them summoning up a ray of Force Light to burn away at the dark side creatures.

He hesitated at her next line of questioning. Opting to answer her second question first.

"Mako Krim." He said after a moment, pressing a three fingered hand to his chest and giving a short little bow of his head in introduction to... "And yours?" He gestured to her softly with the same hand as he brought it away from his chest, all the mannered Knight and diplomat he had trained to be.

"There are... Safe areas, havens from the blight and abominations." He said hesitantly as he eyed the woman warily. He knew next to nothing about her "Forgive me if I'm not exactly eager to divulge such secrets, we've been plagued with infiltrators and such, desperate people inclined to think that giving up their own will somehow save them from the monsters." His expression grew dark and somber for a moment before he continued. "It doesn't."

He had seen a man let the abominations into a safe house and try to flee, just to be swept up in the swarm and gulped down screaming before they moved on to less traitorous prey.

At the next question, Mako looked at the ichorous vines that pulsed gently, as if they knew they were being talked about. He shook his head.

"They creep down from above, there is a source somewhere, but the higher you go the more they consume and..." Well it was hard to track down the source of something that covered everything wasn't it. "I can't say for certain what it is, but my best guess is a corruption, pollution, run off from the creation of these beasts." He said with a sour frown and a nod.

Now he looked at the woman seriously for a moment as he considered her.

"I have made all manner of unlikely allies in my time here." He started, cautiously. "And I am not opposed to your stated goal, but if I am to trust you with the lives of the people I have worked so hard to protect, I need to know." His dark eyes met hers with a hard and serious look. "Who are you?"


@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Mako Krim, Jedi Knight. She wondered how much longer he'd be alive. He was here fighting for weeks, so maybe he could look out for himself. This galaxy was full of people dying all the time, and all of their times would come eventually. Maybe his would be now or maybe it would be later.

Arla, she said. She had no reason not to give her real name here. On the illicit contracts she took from time to time, she hunted under a different moniker. Here she was... technically able to be associated with Apex.

Hm, fair. I suppose I would be skeptical if you were too willing to open up, she said. In which case, where are we going? she asked. She considered pointing out that if she were a friend to the abominations she wouldn't be cutting them down, but then such a "society" was abom-eat-abom. If she were an infiltrator, sacrificing a few of those dog creatures was just the kind of thing she might do to gain trust.

She continued to look at the ichorous vines, prodding one with a knife gently rather than putting her fingers directly on it. She cut away a piece and it fell to the ground, almost squirming for a moment before going still as if it had been cut off from its source of life. It would die, and all the better for it.

After a few moments more, she stood again, cleaning her knife blade and sliding it away.

I work for Apex Military Contractors. Or more specifically, it is my company. We fought the Sith alongside some of yours on Kashyyyk, she said. She had no idea if he had heard about it, but it might do to thin the wall of ice that seemed erected between them.

And then she simply stood there, staring at him with an unflinching gaze, waiting to hear how he felt about that. She didn't anticipate a problem and perhaps she would even sense relief.

Call being here good publicity for what my organization is capable of, she said. Of course that was only a half truth, but it was half truth. Covax had already helped evacuate civilians on world and Arla was here for a more selfish but still generally beneficial-to-all-non-abomination-beings reason. Perhaps that also meant that evacuating civilians would be good publicity. In fact, that was a pretty good idea. Maybe even better than her polishing her skills on the abominations. Or was it too much to ask for both?

@Arcangel

 

[Mako Krim]

Where are we going? It certainly was the question wasn't it. Without the trust to bring this "Arla" to one of the hidden safe zones, it was something that Mako had to figure out. Luckily he had the time of the rest of her explanation to do so.

He contemplated options while she examined the sinewy vines and fleshy roots that twined about the city. His brow raised as she explained who she worked for, or rather, who worked for her. He had heard of Apex of course, it was a new company in a galaxy of old names. It had made a few waves and she mentioned a notable moment when her company had worked along side the Jedi before. Worked. For credits.

"Good publicity is worth more credits in the future than can be earned in the present." He commented with a sage nod, the wisdom of one who had no credits to pay. He hoped she would simply take the exposure, and her own personal goals, rather than suddenly footing him or the Order with a bill. He certainly wouldn't be signing any contracts that could be held up in a court.

"I have heard of your company." He said as he watched the piece of vine that she had cut away wither and die, it's black sinew bubbling bubbling before it began to lose cohesion and melt away into a black spot on the 'crete. "Perhaps there is a way that your deeds here can be exposed to the wider galaxy." He said carefully after a moment. There were still people to move, schedules to keep. He was about to say more when a howling scream echoed nearer to them. Much nearer. And above them.

"I believe we have outworn our welcome in this spot." He said as he looked up in the direction of the sound to see a horror crawling down one of the vines towards them, it's form incomprehensible as it scuttled quickly in their direction.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla nodded as he mentioned publicity. She could only hope that was the case, but if not, this wasn't expressly a business trip. Somewhere in between business and hobby.

Hmm, she hummed quietly as she watched the vine shrivel and die. She wondered if he had actually heard of Apex or was simply saying that. They were still growing, and although they had gained some publicity, they still had a long way to go. But they would get there. Someday.

If you're good at something, never do it for free, she'd been told. But that predicated a galaxy where the only thing she cared about was money. While Apex might not work for free, she had her own goals, and sometimes those didn't involve simple money.

Another shrill screech sounded out, much closer this time, and Arla stiffened, jerking to her feet and snatching the lightsaber off the back of her belt without even thinking about it. She knew better than to underestimate anything that happened in a place like this, but even so she had a distinct impression that whatever this vine-tender was, it was not the most dangerous of creatures.

She pondered a moment whether she should kill it, but ultimately decided it was more a waste of energy than anything.

If you cannot take me somewhere useful, then why are we together? she asked, looking back at Mako with a scathing glare. If he wasn't taking her back to a safe zone, then she wasn't going to simply follow him to... nowhere in particular. Somehow, she felt as if he were manipulating her.

Instead, she moved over to the building and thrust a hand out to it, knocking the glass inward and leaping inside the building before starting to descend downward. These things liked darkness and they hunted people. If the people had fled underground to the lower levels, the dangerous beasts would have as well.

If Mako opted to follow her, she wouldn't stop him, but she also didn't look back to check on him. He was an adult and a knight at that.

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako eyed the creature warily as it descended down the vine towards the pair, his fingers tapping lightly on the hilt of his lightsaber as he considered it. Arla's suddenly snapped retort took him by surprise and he looked at her, momentarily taken aback as she turned and walked away.

"Cannot? Well now you're just putting words into my mouth." He said quietly to himself as he watched her go, noisily smashing through a pane of glass as she made entrance into a darkened building. He looked back to the creature as it neared, judging the pull he felt both ways, weighing the costs and gains. He didn't know how many this creature had slain, how many more it might if he left it. But the greater opportunity that was walking away won out in the end, so he turned and ran to follow, hopping down into the darkness behind Arla.

"You're a businesswoman then." He said without a tone of judgement as he caught up to her and slowed to match her pace. "As well as a hunter." She wanted nothing to do with him if he could not provide her with something useful. Well, that was a language he could speak.

"I would propose a trade then." He started as he weighed his words carefully. If she was and agent of the enemy, what he was about to suggest could be damaging, many lives could be lost. But it wouldn't be the unraveling of everything that had been built. And if she was what she said... Well then everybody won, including her.

"There are abominations that could use hunting, stronger than those from earlier, that I could guide you to. And safe spaces where you could rest in between hunts, if you were so inclined." He explained, starting with what he could offer before moving on to the ask. "However, I have a flock of sheep that need shepherding to a ship that is leaving today. Usually I do it on my own, with some help from the locals... But the moves are not easy... I could use an extra saber along."

It would be a great help if he could have a hand such as hers along, to guide the refugees to safety. He didn't allow himself to get hopeful that she would take the offer however.

@Phoenix

 

[Arla]

Arla's basal levels of grumpiness didn't often make her a particularly enjoyable partner, but she was a useful one. Sometimes. She continued down into the building, the darkness starting to creep in all around her as she descended downward. This whole planet was stifling in a way that she hadn't really anticipated, and not only that, she found herself drawn to it. The darkness offered promise. The memory that she would never have to bow to anyone again. That she could become what her Mother had once been: a galactic ruler. That she could become anything she wanted if she simply stopped caring about the damage she cause or the damage to those around her.

She took an abrupt breath in and it seemed to snap her back into her own body again. The Jedi started speaking again, and she thought a moment back to that first time she had met Ezra. They hadn't known their own relation at the time, and they didn't exactly get along. She had tried to ask him questions, but she had ultimately gotten no answers.

She said nothing for a moment as she listened to his trade proposal. It seemed... reasonable. Besides, if they were evacuating people, there was a fair chance something would show up to kill them, no?

Okay, you have a deal, she said, holding up a barely visible finger in the darkness. But you also agree to answer my questions about the Jedi, she said. It was probably not what he expected, and he wasn't even sure she had any questions anymore, but she wanted the door open for herself.

She swapped hands with her lightsaber and extended an empty right hand to the Jedi to shake. Deal? she asked.

 

[Mako Krim]

Mako was not unaware of Arla's reaction as he caught up to her, the sharp snap of a breath. Had he caught her brooding? He chuckled internally. She listened as they moved, stopping once he had reached the conclusion of his proposal.

There was a brief moment as she added an additional cost, and he hesitated. Only for a moment.

"Reasonable questions," He nodded, "Obviously." He finished. He wouldn't be handing over any security clearances or secrets of the Order, but he saw no harm in indulging a curious mind. He too switched his saber into the off hand, reaching out his own right hand and grasping hers to shake. "Deal." He stated with a nod.

He had the faint feeling that perhaps he had just made a deal with the devil.

Oh well. What was done was done and if she helped him save lives, then it was probably a deal well made. He took a moment, glancing about as he calculated directions in his head before sharply turning and walking down a different direction than the one she had been going.

"This way. The rendezvous point is near one of those safe zones I mentioned." Near, but not in. Trust still had to be built after all. They had a ways yet to travel and he motioned to her expectantly. "We have a bit of walking to do. Nows as good as any time to ask some of those questions." He prompted, giving her the oppressive to do so as they walked.

@Phoenix