And All The Lost Souls Say (Kai)

[Darius Olar]

The peace and quiet was all that Darius needed. Well, truthfully speaking, it was all he ever got on the world of Ossus. The Temple was at times bustling and noisy from the sound of training, lightsabers clashing in friendly spars or competition, the honing of ones skill with the lightsaber blade, the voice of lecturers that would fill entire rooms on topics of the Force and diplomacy. Darius himself was often absent from these lectures and competitions, a lot had changed in his time since becoming the Padawan of Avalore Eden; the first thing to change was that, he was no longer her padawan by any means, they had parted for one reason or another. Meristali was also gone, perhaps from the Order altogether. All that he was familiar with, was gone, the hope of becoming a Jedi Knight, to see the galaxy in a much more stable place. It was perhaps but a dream, one he had allowed himself to become deluded with, maybe it was his skeptism that had pushed others away, or even his nervousness.

Alas, he was now stuck in limbo, now forced to become the caretaker of his own path and destiny, both of which he had very little guidance or understanding off. So he distanced himself from the Temple, he spent more days beyond the walls and out in the wild forests where nature was at its finest, a place where none would bother him, where none would lecture him. All he needed was time, and that time was sorely needed to just be to himself. There was little to worry or little to fear in the forests of Ossus, the predators kept their distance, Darius' own defensive stances were often enough to deter them, while he spent his time with the more docile herbivore, the gentle creatures that seemingly lived a far more simple existence. Eat, sleep and eventually pass away, whether through natural means or that of a predator. With only his lightsaber clipped upon his belt, a comm device and satchel of snacks, he had ventured deeper into the forests, into seclusion where meditation would come easy without the constant distraction of the Jedi Temple, and those that roamed it.

Darius had not forgotten the path of the Jedi, nor did he no longer aspire to become one; it was simply blurred. Deep down, he desired to become the Jedi Knight the galaxy sorely needed, yet, he lacked the faith that he could be able to become one, without a mentor, without a friend there to guide him, he was quite literally lost, as he was now in the forest, or so he thought. The Force had an amusing way of bringing people together, weaving meetings and events to allow for some sense of clarity, if one were to believe that the higher power was capable of doing so, if one believed the Force truly existed. It was in the small grove he frequented often that he had led himself to, it was peaceful and quiet, a few stone blocks were littered about, perhaps from the time when others had lived there, but Darius had assumed this was perhaps millennia ago. With that, he was able to sit himself down, legs crossed, his back straightened and his breathing now set into a calm rhythm, he could feel his mind at ease, this was only for a moment however.

The quiet hum of a starships' engine had filled his mind and ears, hovering close by before the gauges that were the landing equipment of the ship lowered with a hiss of the hydraulic mechanisms putting themselves into action. Eyes having shot open, a soft sigh escaped the young Jedi's lips. Perhaps it was too much for him to ask for a quiet moment, he had taken many of them, it was only right for someone, or something to have finally intervened it. He sorely needed that guidance, perhaps this was a sign as to what he needed. Despite often ignoring his own curiosity as per the teachings of the Jedi, he had pushed that particular segment of training to the back of his mind, he desired to explore, if he couldn't meditate in peace, he was going to at least confront the culprit responsible. Marching through the forest, his boots pressed heavily against the forest floor, twigs and debris of dying leaves crunching beneath his feet, his right, dominant hand now upon his lightsaber. It was hard to know as to whom was friend or foe, and whether or not, this mysterious visitor was the former or the latter.

Coming into the small forest clearing, he attempted to conceal himself beside the bushes, albeit, his white robes and black boots hardly allowed him the means to remain concealed for long. A brow quirked, he watched as the ships' ramp lowered, eagerly anticipating the man or woman, or a group perhaps, to exit from the ship. He was ready to pounce, his breathing had intensified just by a smidgen, his brow dripping beads of sweat. "Come on then, who are you?" He muttered to himself.

 

[Kai Acheron]

It had been some time since Kai had personally brought a ship down into the atmosphere of a planet. More often than not his stops of late had been either aboard another, far larger vessel, or some form of a space station. Anything else was usually done by means of taxi, or someone else, usually the ship's computers, were doing the work. He wasn't fond of them in the slightest, or anything that could think for itself and wasn't a lifeform. Arguably artificial intelligence was 'lively', or at least some would vie for that -- the man was not one of them. Distrustful was about as much as the explorer was willing to grant them, bordering on a grain of dislike. At least it wasn't hatred. That was a path he couldn't afford to go down, for anything, really. Not now, and most certainly not in the near future.

Embracing his emotions had been something that his master, only recently passed, had instructed him in. She was neither inclined to believe there was any one or two sides of the Force, but rather of thinking it as a living tool. Much like people were not innately good, or evil as a whole, and it was an individual's actions, decisions, and story that made them who they were. Preferring to believe it as an 'enlightened' approach towards his studies, the pupil didn't see it as the only answer. Merely a method to keeping his mind open towards learning, which was something he would end up doing regardless if he wanted to or not. Frankly now, he didn't have much of a choice. Reason being he wouldn't survive on his own if he stayed in the current state that he was.

Creditless, or nearly so, with a ship that severely needed an overhaul and had seen better days. It was a wonder that it had set down onto the planet in one piece, let alone having the ability to keep the energy signature masked. Whether or not that was entirely accurate, he wouldn't know, but it wasn't perfect. No technology in that form was, and the Eventide was far too small to even consider a cloaking device. Handy as it might be, that was another item he was distrustful on -- it was far too risky, and while it certainly had its benefits, the negative possibilities, such as ship-wide systems failure or exploding into a fireball were not on his bucket list. Kai wasn't an engineer. He understood technology, more than most in his role would, save for other people that ended up with the Order that resided on Susevfi. It was part of their way of life, and tradition if one really thought about it.

He was still behind in progress that would be expected of him, however. While he wasn't among the lowest of degrees of his peers, no longer having a master was a bit of a setback. And he hated to think of it like that, having such a phase or event as a form of entitlement or status upgrade. She had been more than a mentor, but also ended up as a friend. Arguably family, in the long run, because his parents were...well, he frankly didn't know where. Alive, or dead, he hadn't seen them since he was taken away at a young age. No, he and his master had not always seen eye to eye, and more often than not she ruled quite bluntly. But there was no denying that her method of instruction was effective, and when they weren't out in the field? There was a different side to her.

As the hiss of the airlock released, granting the ramp some time to extend towards the ground, he could hear the swivel of the blaster turret not all that far from him rotating and scanning the area. Clearly something had been picked up on its sensors, and the instruments in the cockpit had either failed to do so, or were severely out of calibration. Probably some mixture of the two. When his eyes met the grove, the apprentice couldn't notice much of anything visually, but there was something nearby. What, he couldn't place, but it became a bit more obvious as a voice had called forth his attention the second his feet hit the ground.

Save for a groan that escaped his lips, there was little other reaction to the query that had been unceremoniously thrust towards him. "Really? I swear everywhere I go. Answered the second I land with a blaster to the face, an animal that wants me for a meal, or a lightsaber ready to chop some bodily extension off. What is it with you people?" he muttered, going on in a far quieter tone about distrust in society these days. His banter finished within a brief moment, granting his eyes time to adjust to the light levels of the new environment. "If I wanted to hurt you, I'm pretty sure that dilapidated thing would have made an artful waste of ash and burning plants well before I set foot here." Eyes and a nod towards the turret, he released what tension was left in his system and brushed off a bit of dust from the dated armor that had been loaned to him. A training set, and not particularly comfortable. Come to think of it, he probably looked like some form of bounty hunter or trooper that had gotten lost a few decades prior, given the poor state that the thin gear was in. Not even plastisteel, but rather some kind of sore hide jerkin and similar pants. Heck, the only thing that screamed 'technology' was the wristlet around his arm that had a minute control panel for accessing the ship's ramp while he was away from the internal controls.

With his eyes darting downwards, still continuing to scan the man that had 'greeted' him, he recognized the familiar ambience the robes held. And the fact that the guy's hand was clung fast to a lightsaber -- that was hard to miss. Well, at least that meant he was in the right place. Here the off-worlder was hoping to set down in a quiet, secluded area away from the main facilities and go nearly unnoticed until necessary, and yet he'd been met almost immediately. Blasting force users. Not that he could talk, with two sabers hidden beneath his own attire. "Seriously. Not going to need that," he inclined his head towards the weapon. "You can call me Kai. Now are we going to have a ridiculous stand off of some sort, or handle this like civilized guys?"

 

[Darius Olar]

Visitors' to the planet of Ossus weren't so frequent, given that the Jedi Temple was quite isolated itself or so Darius liked to believe it was. Senators would at times visit, if only for personal reasons, some with problems that required fixing, others with political interest. Either way, Darius didn't get to see many off-worlders, let alone spend a lot of time off world in general, the chance to meet someone new was both fresh and exciting. Yet Darius knew the dangers of an off-worlders, they could be chaotic, dangerous and problematic, especially those with an agenda against the Jedi. Darius did question the sanity of those that would come alone or in a small group to the Temple, just to cause problems. It took armies to raise Jedi Temple's and even then, tactical advantages and strategies that the Jedi could not best.

This visitor however, seemed to sport a ship that would be unsuspecting of a senator, or a rogue agent. It had a certain amount of flare to it, sleek, well trimmed and well looked after. This was by Darius' standard at least, he himself hadn't spent much time aboard the vessels that could travel the vast emptiness of space, and when he did, it was usually in the form of a shuttle transport. This ship did not seem so cramped, more than a shuttle but less than a freighter dedicated towards the delivery of goods, perhaps it was simply a ship for personal transport and use. It was with that, Darius eagerly awaited to see the departure of the individual from the ship, of course, he was more likely to correctly make the assumption as to what sort of person would pilot the ship. The young Jedi had hoped it was neither of the following; a well dressed person of both wealth and title, or a person that was more inclined to take part in the less illegitimate methods of business. The two stereotypes were the only ones he could ponder on, not having traveled much beyond the walls of the Temple, his own ignorance had allowed these stereotypes to form.

Truly, the day that Darius Olar ventures from the Temple and out into the galaxy, would be the day that his world would turn upside down.

Finally the individual- Now a man, had exited his vessel. He was unlike both the stereotypes that Darius had in mind, he was clad in an armor of sorts, with gauntlets or a communication device, Darius was unsure, sight wasn't offering him much at this point in time. While eagerness had led him to press onto the tips of his toes, subconsciously, his hand found itself wrapped around the hilt of his lightsaber. Unable to determine this individual to be a friend or a foe, he knew it best to hope for the former and be prepared for the latter. Upon the shorter man's opening statement, Darius could only scoff allowed, his eyes fixed firmly upon his, gaze traveling along the rigid jawline of the man. Opting for silence, he decided to slowly step out into the clearing, to get a clearer look of the man, and for the man to actually see him.

"We don't get many visitors here, at least not those that conceal their landing in the forests.. disturbing someones' meditation of all things." He stated aloud with a groan, shaking his head with slight distaste. "Blasters are also very barbaric, they lack grace as for removing limbs, I can do that very gracefully.. well, when I learn how to." He wasn't fond of violence, Darius was more inclined to using his mouth to deter potential threats, not that this individual proved to be a threat, yet. No, the male wanted what Darius wanted it seemed, peace and quiet, however, it seemed the two took it upon themselves to disturb just that. "You're asking for a thank you, right? Why thank you, so much, for not having blasted me to dust and ruining this fascinating landscape around us. You're a humanitarian." He uttered loud enough for the other to hear, his tone and words dripping with an obscene about of sarcasm.

Kai. The other was quick to reveal his name, it eased Darius slightly to know fully that the other did not want conflict, it wasn't something that Darius was particularly well trained to handle, albeit his readied stance for it. With that, his hand lowered from his lightsaber and onto his hip. Kai seemed genuine thus far, there was no inkling that he desired to hurt Darius, at least, that was what Darius could feel brimming ontop of the surface. "Right. Lets say I believe you, which I do." He waved a hand slowly as he spoke as if carrying himself through the process. "What are you doing here exactly?" He asked bluntly, his nostrils flaring as if he wanted to get to the bottom of it all very quickly. "Darius. That's my name if you're unable to clock onto that." With a smirk, he waited for the other to speak once more, he approached once more by a mere few footsteps.

 

[Kai Acheron]

Unsure of precisely who he was dealing with, it was an off-balance walk forward as Kai stepped foot onto the soft earth. A familiar welcome, compared to the metal plating of the starship, of which he’d spent far too many hours on. There were days in which he wished that the vessel wasn’t his home for all intensive purposes, long missing the forests and running hills of the planets he’d visited before. Granted, there were far many other biomes and terrain types he’d witnessed personally, but not all that many of which he truthfully cared for. Tatooine was too dry and harsh. Hoth was a frozen wasteland. And Coruscant was nothing but a mess of a city that was still recovering from countless wars through the centuries. It was difficult to find anything that still held the natural beauty of an untouched world that was both hospitable, yet also untarnished by civilization.

Ossus had perhaps once fallen into that category, before it had been glassed and then Vong-shaped. Now, while it still held some level of beauty to it, there were plentiful scars throughout the world and Kai was quite certain that the flora and fauna that did survive were changed by the events. Anything else came with evolution, or was transported from off world. It was probably far different from its original state. Still, it was a welcome difference against the aforethought examples that came to mind. And compared to the Eventide, it was humbly welcomed. Even the aquaponics bay didn’t measure up to this, which was about as ‘wild’ as the ship’s internals got.

“No, I would expect you don’t. It’s a bit out of the way. And if I did disturb you, I’m sorry. I’m going off rather old coordinates in the databanks.” Tempted to roll his eyes at the commentary, the shorter of the two hesitated, not wanting to instigate any hostilities. While the man who seemed to be one of the planet’s few remaining residents held some level of humor or sarcasm to his being, the off-worlder was for all intensive purposes intruding. True, there wasn’t a pass necessary, like there were for some Core Worlds, but people were often protective of their homeland. Understandably so. Kai only had vague holo-images of where he was born, and while he hadn’t been presented the opportunity to return, it was something that he held some sentiment towards.

“You must be very early on in your training. Or focusing on another path…” Kai assessed, refraining from adding the second portion of the statement that came to mind. Something about not being able, or holding the knowledge of slashing against a limb. Then again, blade work was very easy and came naturally to him. That couldn’t be said for all people who practiced such arts. Everyone had their own strengths. For all he knew this guy could have been someone who attuned themselves with nature, or listened to whatever whispers of the ‘Force’ around him answered. After all, that was something that his old master had dedicated herself towards — understanding and appreciating the Living Force.

While Kai was a bit less archaic in his beliefs, he tried to respect such values. Not knowing what the man before him believed, he held back on saying anything potentially offensive. “Humanitarian? Not so much as an idealistic defender.” Smirking in his own right, he laughed for a second before refocusing his gaze from the light level adjustment.

As he cautiously approached, keeping a respectable distance between the two, he raised the ramp to the vessel as a sign of brief trust, that he wasn’t going to flee or attack at any given moment, and no further persons would be exiting. “Following a lead, and hoping to find some answers. I’m afraid that’s about as much as I can tell you, because frankly I don’t have anything concrete beyond that.” Shrugging, he tried to be as open as possible, whilst presenting the truthful appearance that he wasn’t hiding anything malign.

“And yourself, Darius? I’m assuming you are some kind of student, or practitioner at the newer academy here if you were meditating.” Extending a hand as a greeting, he held the remainder of his figure back, so not as to intrude on the man’s personal space.

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[member="Darius Olar"]

 

[Darius Olar]

There was a struggle brewing inside of Darius, the longer he spent near the seemingly well traveled man, the more he felt irked and annoyed by him. It wasn't because he broke his meditation, or his desire to find his sense of peace out in the woods. No, that was fine, it took a break from the norm and even he realised that was required from time to time. It was the idea behind the man that irked him, the ship itself, the general feel of it all. The man had achieved more than what Darius could only dreamed off, or so he assumed. This 'Kai' had the means to travel, the means to explore the stars, regardless of how dangerous such exploration could be. All Darius had known in life was Ossus; it was only briefly did he ever venture off from the world, and the only times he did were with Avalore, someone whom he had tried to forget on many occasion for his own personal reason. Everything about Kai caused envy to rise to the surface, to the point Darius was almost shaking in his boots with it.

He could only begin to imagine what the rest could only say about him in this moment; lecturing him on how feeling envy was wrong, that it would only lead him to pain, misguided action and inevitably, closer to the dark side. Darius only spat mentally at the thought, it was often the case, to do this was bad, to do that was bad but doing this was alright, it was how it usually happened. For as long as he could remember, he had tried his hardest to be the Jedi that the Order, and himself, wanted to be. Yet it became begrudgingly more difficult, as if he was being tested each and every day, as he saw those around him progress, he felt forever stuck in that same limbo. This Kai was a reminder of that, the reminder that there were those out in the galaxy, doing something, while he felt as if he was truly doing, nothing.

Darius was quick to snap himself from the dangerous line of thought, this was hardly the place or time, his focused was required on the present and on the man before him. Despite his friendly approach thus far, Darius remained cautiously aware of him, and his movements. One could speak volumes of how they meant no harm, some were even able to exude the feeling they were harmless, tactics that while not many knew, were still very much real. "Must be some pretty old databanks. I want to say its okay, but you did disturb my meditation and now I'm cranky." It was odd for a Jedi to give off the vibe that they were annoyed, some were able to remain as calm as day, yet Darius was not technically a Jedi, he was a student and despite all his years having been one, he still had much to learn.

With the wrinkling of his nose, he turned his head upright, as if somewhat insulted by the idea he was oh so early into his training. Training was slow, that was it, he also focused on the more academic studies as opposed to the martial orientated arts. Only when he was taken by Avalore did he consider changing that, the Jedi Master did not wield a lightsaber, he could never understand as to why, he saw it as a weakness some could expose, hoping to make up for it. "I've been a Padawan my entire life, so no, I'm not early into my training. Maybe I just don't think hacking limbs off is a necessity but I can begin to try, if you like." He huffed loudly, the insult buried deep. "Well - Not that I have any particular skill, so maybe not right now, maybe when I practice later. When I get back to my meditation, you know?"

"Sound like a Jedi." He retorted with a snort. Jedi were seen as idealistic defenders by some, they thrived on idealism and to a point, so did Darius, less so now than he did in the past however. It all began to thicken, the true nature of Kai's reasoning to being on Ossus; he was on a mission or an assignment. The idea unsettled Darius in the way that it caused some excitement, whatever prejudice or caution he had towards the man, had slipped away, if only for a moment. So the person was on more than just an adventure, he was focused on seeing something to completion. "That's not a lot to go by, what or who's your lead? Maybe I know?" It was a long short, Darius didn't particularly know of anything else on Ossus aside from the Temple, although, if Kai was looking into ruins, he did have a good ideas to where to start. "Maybe you should try and thicken the permacrete." He snipped. "I'm a Jedi Padawan- Masterless Padawan. I used to have a Master but now I don't, that's easy to get, right? I mean, it's sort of complicated but it's what it is. So, what are you? Who are you? Not your name, I know your name, it's Kai."

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[member="Kai Acheron"]

 

[Kai Acheron]

Running into a quirky individual hadn't been an expectation of Kai when he set down in the glade, hoping to keep his profile low. Then again, the same could probably be said for Darius, whom had likely not expected anyone to rain on his parade during meditation. Of the two, the ever-slighest shorter man didn't focus much of his time in such an activity, unless he truly needed to reflect on what was taking place over the previous happenings. Post missions, for the most part...but then again he hadn't been on an official mission in...too long. Master Glo'ra had taken them off the radar and away from the rest of the council, leading them to their own 'duties'. That was what he began to look at his current scenario as, following in her footsteps.

Maybe it was a twisted reality of what it should have been. Maybe it wasn't. But it was all he really knew, after being practically disowned by the Order. One of the similarities with the Jedi, he supposed, when you didn't fall in line with their traditions, lax as they were by comparison. It was strange really though, as you never fit in anywhere, though you could certainly masquerade as such. After a long while the Sith would realize there wasn't any extreme darkness in your heart, and the light siders would take note that while generally good intentioned, you weren't of purity enough to keep mischief away. But where the Jensaarai went these days, trouble usually followed. There were too few left, and they were hunted more regularly than any other force sensitive faction than Kai was even vaguely aware of. The vast majority had gone into hiding.

"They are. The ship alone is between one and two centuries old. Hasn't exactly been to this part of the galaxy in...well, long since before I was around..." he offered forth, trying to shed some light on his current base. Trust was something that was while not impossible between the two, would prove challenging. There wasn't any outright hostility so far as the apprentice was able to tell, but there was most definitely a sense of frustration. Perhaps jealousy. What for, he couldn't tell, but the tone in Darius' words gave it away quite audibly that the man wasn't in the best of moods. Odd...especially for a Jedi, who to Kai's knowledge were supposed to keep their emotions in check.

"Well, I humbly submit my apologies for interrupting you. Trust me, it wasn't my intentions. Half the time the ship can barely pick up a starfighter on the sensors, let alone anything smaller. Had I known anyone was here I'd have landed elsewhere." Shrugging, he turned his focus to the ramp that had finished hissing shut, compressing the airlock within and sealing access to the antiquated vessel. "She doesn't look like much, but she gets the job done I guess. Gets me to where I need to go reasonably safe. Can't really ask for much else, I guess."

There was an air of humbleness in his words, not taking his assets for granted, and holding no ill will towards Darius. While he didn't trust the new acquaintance outright, he didn't distrust him, which put the similarly aged fellow in an odd spot. Hanging in the balance until there was reason to believe otherwise, which probably spoke a good deal about his character. Both of them, really. "That's not a bad mindset, by the way. Not everyone needs to focus on incapacitating others, whether through dismemberment or other means. It's just what you hear when most people utter the word light sword across the galaxy. I expect you might know a bit better though, if you've spent your life around them a while longer." Bearing a timid smile that had formed from his previous smirk, Kai relaxed, extending his hand.

"Just Kai, for now. I don't really have any allegiances. Did, perhaps in the past, but they don't want me any longer. Guess you could say I'm along the grey now. Exile or whatever." Rolling his eyes, he looked downwards to scan over his counterpart. A bit taller, an engrained sense of sass or at least sarcasm, and an athletic build. Pity they didn't meet earlier, they'd probably had made good friends growing together, were that an opportunity back when he himself was growing. Unlike Darius, however, he hadn't been part of an Order his entire life. Well...most of it. Minus two-odd years. But he didn't live, eat, sleep and breathe the philosophy.

"And before you ask, I wasn't part of the Sith or the Republic. I try not to get caught up in those politics. Never cared for them." Drawing his eyes forward once more as his attention was regained upon the subject changer he paused. Leads were a hard thing to trust others with, but given the fact that he had little other information to go on there wasn't much of any 'classified' data to breach. "An old friend told me to visit the planet. Something about the old temples that are now long lost. She wasn't all that descriptive. But then again, she didn't really have the opportunity to."


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[member="Darius Olar"]