Private Blackwall Blues

[Kaila Irons]

Location: Echnos city, detention center
Wearing: Dress
Tag: Cerys Dyn

Several weeks after: Total Eclipse of the Heart...​

"She was carrying these."

Kaila fixed the soldier a concerned glare, and took the weapons in hand.

Lightsabers. Jedi make. she could feel the light spreading from their crystals like a cancer.

"Who else knows?"

"Local security chief, my partner and I."

So the Black Fleet were unaware? This was a good thing. It gave her time to satisfy her own curiosities, and handle it herself before the Emperor could be made aware. Kaila nodded slowly and began to walk away, clipping the captured sabers to her her belt.

"Tell no one. I'll be taking over this case from here on out."

The soldier bowed and excused himself as his lord strode down the hall, lowering the shield gate with a flick of her wrist, stepping through just as it closed behind her. She stopped there for a moment, silken and armorweave dress swaying gently in the breeze of a faulty vent just outside the cell. Before her was the intruder in question, a young Togruta female by the look of it, suspended in a central containment field and arms bound above her head.

Kaila hardly looked at her yet, focused instead on a datapad containing her case file.

"Caught smuggling lightsabers inside the Blackwall."

"Failure to authenticate identification."

"Resisting arrest."

"Considered armed and dangerous."

The woman sighed, setting the pad down on a nearby chair.

"All the hallmarks of a Jedi plot."

She crossed her large arms, tapping gloved fingers against her bicep.

"This will all get a lot easier if you answer; just what exactly was the plan?"

​

 

[Cerys Dyn]

This was not her first time in a situation like this. After En-Vala was murdered on Coruscant, Cerys had spent many a month flitting from one world to another, doing what good she could for the local population, and then moving on again once the Force...and finances would allow. On a couple of occasions, her do-gooding had caught the eye of self-proclaimed Sith Lord's on the worlds. She was not unaccustomed to working her way out of these situations.

If I could learn to hide the lightsabers somehow, maybe they wouldn't send a Force user to question me.

Her montral picked up the sound of boots clinking on the floor. Cerys didn't turn toward the shield until the woman in black arrived.

Hope she never leans her head to the left or right too far...why would you wear something like that?

Sith always seemed to have a penchant for impractical fashion. This one at least wore it well.

The Sith gave an aura of confidence, and command. She was clearly a person to be reckoned with. Cerys, for her part, did not intend to reckon with anyone today.

The charges were listed. Cerys only reacted to the part about resisting arrest. "All I said was no...you need to get border security guards with stronger will...like the one beside him...he didn't go for it."

The mind trick had worked on one guard. Unfortunately, there were two.

"There is no plot. And only barely a plan. I am an Oathwarden," she said, and it felt good to say as much. She was not merely a Jedi. She had vows she would keep, no matter who it was in her life that had failed to do so.

"I am merely a pilgrim, seeking to do what good I can as I travel through this part of the galaxy," she said, speaking the words that her master...her mother...had once said.

Kaila Irons​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Dress
Tag: Cerys Dyn

"Oathwarden?" she raised a dark brow.

Golden eyes flicked up at the Jedi, glowing in the dim cell light. She couldn't quite make out the Togruta's face, silhouetted by the energy field as she was, but she didn't need to. There was a certain amount of pride in her voice, too much to be lying.

"I'd thought they were a myth, or fallen."

She wandered closer all the while, looking more curious than before.

"So too am I told, wardens traveled in pairs. No more, no less."

"A master...."

Kaila stopped right in front of her, murmuring the last;

"...and an Apprentice."

It was still difficult to examine her features, but the Jedi didn't sound any older than herself. Either they were both unusually young for a master, or this was the padawan.

Which means...

"Where is your master, Jedi?"

"They won't get far, you must realize that now, The Emperor has ensured this moon is one of the most secure worlds in the empire."

"You think local security is harsh? wait until you see the agents breathing down their necks."

She paused a moment, genuine confusion wrinkling her freckled features.

"Why would they send you into such danger alone...?"

 

[Cerys Dyn]

"You are familiar with Oathwardens?" Cerys said, skepticism clear in her tone.

The answer was clear as her captor, glowing yellow eyes and all, spat out a series of assumptive questions. Cerys shifted uncomfortably as she did. The answers were not ones that she wished to give.

"My master died on Coruscant some time ago."

Truth.

"Since then I have been seeking a new path forward."

Somewhat true.

"I have come alone. No master. No one has arrived before me."

Her plan or lack thereof sounded even more foolhardy now that she was starting to elude to it. Details needed to be left out, of course. Like, her abandoning of The Jedi Order, and the High Republic.

"No one sent me. I...came alone. Of my volition."

Kaila Irons​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Dress
Tag: Cerys Dyn

Her eyes narrowed with skepticism of her own.

Just a little.

But the more she thought about it, the more it made sense. Security was strong here, enough to make her life difficult, let alone that of a Jedi. If she had a master, they'd have been picked up by now. The same could be said of any order she might've worked with.

She glanced to the floor, then to her.

"You really are alone... aren't you...?"

The young Darth stepped back to look her in the more comfortably, perhaps for both their sake. Confusion was still evident on her face, but so too was a dawning realization.

"Ronin so young are a rare sight, and yet..."

Those eyes traced her form in the dark, taking in her build. Not the amazonian figure of her captor, but the Jedi's make suggested an active lifestyle.

A different kind of warrior, perhaps, but a warrior nonetheless.

"How have you survived so long without a teacher?"

​

 

[Cerys Dyn]

Cerys frowned. Her arms tugged at the restraints almost reflexively. The woman almost sounded sympathetic. Perhaps this would be easier than Cerys thought.

"Young?" Cerys said quietly, "I have lived this life for most of the last 11 years. And I have been without my late master for well over two. I am more than capable of making my own way." It was true, with serious omissions.

Cerys shifted her posture as much as the containment field would allow. It was not the most comfortable invention.

How she was going to push for release and entrance into Sith space was not so apparent. But perhaps she would start with building on this compassion, hope to create some bond, however slight, that might give her some grace.

"My name...is Cerys Dyn...padawan of the Oathwarden path." She dipped her head, it was the closest to a bow she could offer. "I have no quarrel with the Sith government. I only desire permission to travel. What would be required of me to gain such permission?"[/COLOR]

Kaila Irons​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Dress
Tag: Cerys Dyn

"Relatively speaking, yes."

Kaila pinched her chin in thought.

"We are both quiet young for the lives we lead."

Cerys was correct in her assumptions, there was some form of sympathy in that soft, albeit authoritative voice. The prisoner was not her peer exactly, but the Sith had an understanding of that life.

"My name...is Cerys Dyn...padawan of the Oathwarden path."

"I am Anathemous," she dipped her chin in kind, the closest she would come to a bow.

"Lord of this city."

There was a shift however, as Cerys asked her question. The young Darth folded her arms behind her back, chin raised ever so slightly. She exhaled slowly, disappointedly.

"As a jedi? Impossible."

"Even I could not openly permit such a thing, and to wander the empire as you are now, you would do so illegally. The punishment of course is death, or worse."

"And I do not believe for a second—" her eyes narrowed.

"—that you come only to wander."

Another breath, she took a seat nearby, chewing at her lip in thought.

"You've put me in quite a position, Jedi."

​

 

[Cerys Dyn]

Anathemous' willingness to find common ground was surprising, as we her admission that being a Jedi in Sith controlled territory was punishable by death. Cerys was still very much alive, and the golden-eyed Sith did not seem in a hurry to change that status. Cerys was not about to suggest it either.

Maybe Cerys would just have to find another way in. If there was sympathy to her plight then perhaps that could be leveraged towards a release back into non-Sith space.

"Seems that you have a problem indeed," she said, tone softer than one might expect.

She gave the impression of being deep in thought, turning her head to the side and even offering a hmmm.

"I...well...it would not be convenient...but I could just go back to where I came from?" She said.

Her face lit up with the idea.

"I could just leave? Rid you of my nuisance!" [/COLOR]

Kaila Irons​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Dress
Tag: Cerys Dyn

Clawed fingers tapped against her seat.

Cerys was dodging her questions, and offering a solution, yes, but one that was ultimately self serving.

When she looked up however, and the Jedi turned, those golden eyes widened the barest inch. The togruta bore a mark on her cheek, one that looked strangely familiar, but the young Darth was unsure as to why.

She stood, approaching Cerys now. Listening of course, always listening, but... distracted at the same time. Kaila was rarely distracted.

"...and what do I gain from that...?" murmured softly.

Kaila stopped just within arm's reach, if not for the containment field, unable to take her eyes off that mark.

"You've been avoiding my question, so I'm certainly not getting answers out of this."

Finally, she tore her gaze away from her cheek, and looked Cerys in the eye. It was a firm gaze, uncompromising as she leaned ever closer into her personal space.

"I need you to be honest with me."

Anathemous was no longer asking.

"What are you really after?"

​

 

[Cerys Dyn]

Bother.

Well, it was worth a try. But it seemed that Cerys' sway with this Sith was not as strong as she had hoped. And now she demanded honesty. And honesty was certainly more than the truth. Truth could be...given in pieces. Honesty, well that could not be divided into palatable portions.

This is was a stupid idea in the first place. And now she had jeopardised a member of her own order. Potentially.

"I came seeking...a...new master," she said with no small amount of circumspection.

Her eyebrows raised as she realised how that may sound.

"Not...a Sith...by the way."

Kaila Irons​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Dress
Tag: Cerys Dyn

"A new master?"

"Another Jedi master, really?"

The young Darth shrugged defeatedly. Such wasted potential, if she truly had survived this long on her own. Surely a Jedi teacher would surely dull that edge, where a Sith may sharpen her.

"Is there nothing else you dream..."

"...of...?"

She stared at the mark again, brows raised, features frozen in surprise. The dream. She'd seen that mark in her vision, or something similar, at least. So close, but different? gloved fingers drummed against her bodice as the Sith became lost in thought. Suddenly there was a vested interest in learning about this woman for far more than a petty border incident, and that meant Kaila needed to get close, to learn all she could.

To learn things no torturer would.

Though it would be unbelievable to simply let her walk free and somehow befriend the Jedi without cause. Kaila needed a reason, a cover, to be there and a reason for Cerys to trust her.

Or at least, trust that she had a reason to keep the Jedi alive.

Yes, this had to look beneficial to her for reasons more than omens.

Kaila looked up at her curiously, tilting her head.

"What would you give to find this new master?"

​

 

[Cerys Dyn]

Cerys' eyes narrowed. There was something uncomfortable about the way that the dark figure in the room...shifted. Cerys could feel the woman's eyes on her, they sought answers to unasked questions.

"Yes...really." Cerys sounded almost annoyed at the question. She realized too late that it was rhetorical.

"Dream? What...sort of question is that?" She said trying to calm her discontent, and failing miserably.

And then the Sith named it. A price. A payment that would needs be given to find the Jedi Cerys sought.

"I have very little to offer. What would you ask of me to let me go and look?"[/COLOR]

Kaila Irons​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Dress
Tag: Cerys Dyn

Her shoulders slumped in defeat.

The Jedi truly had nothing of value, it seemed. Another Sith may have had her executed by now, and Anathemous certainly looked frustrated. However, after a long pause, the young Sith did something few would expect.

With a flick of her wrist, she deactivated the containment field.

Her gaze followed the woman down with a look regret, and something calculated.

"You're coming with me." she said, folding her arms behind her back.

"And I you."

"You will remain under my supervision for the entirety of your journey in Sith space, and in that time, we are going to discuss a new deal."

"A bet, of sorts."

The sith's tone broached no argument.

​

 

[Cerys Dyn]

The shield came down. Cerys dropped to the ground and into a crouch. For just the faintest of moments she considered running, pushing past the shadow cloaked Sith, and making a run for it. She quickly thought better of it.

Her head lifted upward, slowly, as her captor spoke. She could make out more of the shape of the woman, it caused Cerys to narrow her eyes. She had expected something hideous to go along with those yellow eyes. Now, she felt less confident.

"I am at your whim...it seems...."

Standing to full, and rather unimposing, height, Cerys was the picture of stoic self-control.

If she could not escape in this moment, there would be another that would present itself. For now, she would bide her time, and play this woman's game.

"And what...pray tell...shall I call my new probation officer?"

Kaila Irons​

 

[Kaila Irons]

Wearing: Dress
Tag: Cerys Dyn

"Correct." she bluntly confirmed.

"But you could certainly do worse."

The sith matched her stoic expression, coupled with a faint curiosity behind those eyes, of unreadable origin. She watched her stand defiantly despite her size, but read a degree of acceptance in her body language nonetheless. They'd both come to terms with the roles they were playing, even if the details were fuzzy.

Her brows furrowed some at the question, but not because it was wrong to ask. It was simply a choice for the young Darth to make.

"...Kaila..." she decided at last.

"But only in the confines of private circles."

Kaila turned, holding her pose as the shield dropped for them both.

"Come along."

She began a slow walk, unnaturally heavy footfalls quietly reverberating through the tight detention halls. Cerys was trusted to follow, because Kaila still held the girl's sabers locked tightly away in a special sheath griptioned to her hip.

"Do you drink tea, Miss Cerys?"

​