By Babbling Brook

[Lief]

Aaris III​

The Kathol Sector​

ORC Territory​

​

The steady rush of water was a welcome reprise from humming engines and spluttering ships.

By her side a stream flowed, making its way through the forest with a grace she could never even hope to muster. Curled up at her feet Azrael purred in contentment and basked in the afternoon sun which peeked through the trees and into the clearing they had discovered some thirty minutes prior. A steaming pot of tea bubbled over a roaring campfire, the earthly aromas tempting her toward pouring a drink before it had fully steeped. A mixture of different leaves, as well as both fruits and spices, mixed with the water, a special blend that she had perfected over the short years of her life.

Her Father's favourite.

As if hearing her thoughts, the kettle began to whistle for the second time that afternoon, and the ginger tabby lifted his fluffy head in indignation toward it. His sleepy gaze proceeded to drift her way, earning him a soft fuss behind the ear.

Aaris III, she had long since decided, was a most splendid place indeed. While it had regions which were inhabited, there remained vast swathes of land which lay untouched by any form of sentient being, miles upon miles of verdant forests to get lost within. It had not been a planet she knew of until a few weeks back, when the Council had vocalized their plans to seek a refuge away from sight and mind, somewhere to raise and train the younger members of their Order without fear of infiltration or harm to their beings.

That was where Asha came in.

While other Journeyers had been tasked with scouting out a whole myriad of planets in the Outer Rim, Asha had the pleasure of scouring Aaris. Truth be told the Council had already partially made up their mind, so many factors made this world a perfect candidate but until they had more solid intel they were naturally reluctant to begin the project. These were children they were planning the future and wellbeing of, after all, not Je'daii who could protect themselves from harm.

Much of her report had already been made. Snapshots, atmospheric and geographical readings, alongside her own personal views on the place, had been sent back to the Council who were now in deep debate over the decision. In the meantime, there was little else she could do but wait for an answer.

And where better than here to sit?

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Come out, come out, wherever you are..."

Aaris III, back in the days of the original Galactic Empire, had been a lawless planet on the fringes of inhabited space. There had even been a fairly large camp of pirates, bounty hunters, and other unsavoury types holding out on the planet, harassing a science team that had been sent there. While in recent years things had gotten a lot nicer on the planet, it was still relatively uninhabited, and those few who chose to make a home on the heavily-forested planet - or even on nearby planets - made nice targets for criminals. Let alone the natives that might be exploited, since they'd begun rebuilding their civilization after the events of nearly a millenium ago - they could make good slaver targets.

This was where Cotan had been called in; there'd been reports, both on-planet and from the nearby systems, of a pirate and his small crew harassing the locals. The district constabulary had been unable to deal with the man, so they called in the help of the Jedi Judges, leading to Cotan finally getting his first non-Zonju V assignment in months. Unfortunately, that meant a hard search through a heavily forested planet for either a man in hiding or his compound that he was hiding in, to set an ambush. Likely the former, given that there hadn't been any outgoing traffic from the planet since the last attack, and not much coming in.

Cotan had been searching for three hours now with no luck, in a sector of the planet that patrolling ships had noticed had a recent landing. There were relatively few sectors that had had any traffic, but they were all still fairly large, and the constabulary was not large. Which meant that most of the work of the search went to the Judges that were on-planet, with very little help from the constabulary except for monitoring all ingoing and outgoing traffic of the system. "Y'know, if they'd realize that the Force isn't completely infallible..."

He kept on his search for a few more minutes, before his ears picked up on sounds nearby, sounds which did not match those of the forest. The crackling of a campfire, and the... Is that a teapot?

He stealthily crept towards the noise, just able to spy a relatively open clearing beyond the remaining trees. Through the Force, he could sense the presence of a being just off to his left. He quietly unholstered one of his pistols, setting it to stun, while he crept forwards. When he caught a glimpse of the being in the clearing he jumped quickly from his cover into it, starting to point his blaster at them, before a single thought of indecision flashed across his mind.

"Got y--Oh, Sithspit." He looked more carefully at the person he'd found; a young adult female Human (or Near-Human), not a mid-forties musclebound Nautolan male. "You know, I was really hoping you were a pirate for a moment there." He put the safety back on his blaster pistol and re-holstered it, keeping his lightsaber hidden within the folds of his longcoat. "What's a kid like you doing way out here in the middle of nowhere, anyways? The nearest settlement is nearly thirty kilometers north of here."

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

The kettle water was piping hot.

She poured it onto the mixture of yet more tea leaves in one of her near-indestructable ceramic mugs and allowed the fruity aroma to float through the air. It proved enough for even Azrael to lift his head curiously, though he had never felt compelled to even try it. Though the day was warm, she found the drink to be extremely refreshing when she brought it to her lips and took a long sip. Energizing, even.

Her gaze drifted skyward as she held the hot mug with both hands, and a very content sigh left her. Part of her was already missing her little hut on Aurum, wondering what it would be like to build similar somewhere out here, even further withdrawn from civilization - as though the depths of a jungle were not already that. Still it did not do to start doubting herself, or coveting other things and places simply because it was different. She was happy with her lot.

The gentle crackling of leaves barely rose above the level of her fire, yet she heard them all the same and turned her head toward the approaching entity. What were the chances of someone else being all the way out here, in the middle of nowhere?

With a frown, she settled the teacup down and waited. She did not reach for her lightsaber, as many would be tempted into doing, violence was not the way to resolve any misunderstanding.

So it was that when the being stepped through with a blaster in hand her eyes were understandably wide.

"Wait, don't shoot..."

Whoever it was seemed to have their own misgivings, for they were just as quick to lower the pistol and set it back into safety. What he said made her raise a brow, why would he want her to be a pirate?

After a few moments her heart rate returned back to normal, and she bowed her head toward the stranger. "No pirates here," she informed him, with a tiny smile that remained meek. After all, she'd almost been shot for no reason other than enjoying the scenery.

"I'm simply exploring," she responded with a light shrug, not entirely the truth but close enough given that no plans had been set in motion to actually build within this area. There was plenty which needed to be done before then. Thankfully this world did not actually have a unified government, and as far as all records indicated this region was not owned by any persons, tribe, or state. Just wild land.

"Would... You care for some tea?"

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"]

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Simply exploring?"

Cotan raised an eyebrow at the girl, walking in closer to her little fire. While theoretically he should continue searching, the entire planet was under search - more or less - and it was being watched very carefully by patrolling forces. If the pirate wasn't captured, he'd at least be scared off somewhere else, and hopefully more heavily inhabited, where he'd be caught - or shot down - and this place wouldn't have to deal with him anymore. "Sure, I'd be fine with some tea."

He shrugged out of his coat, hanging it on the broken branch of one of the few trees trying to grow into the little clearing. This had the added effect of leaving his lightsaber hanging in full view, not that it bothered him much; between the momentarily-stressful situation and the closer physical proximity, even his dulled Force-sense could pick up on the fact that the girl in front of him was sensitive to it. Not particularly aligned to the Light side, but given that she didn't seem to be down in the dark, he wasn't very worried. That, and the lightsaber would be easier to get to without a coat in the way.

He waved a hand, a stump uprooting itself before landing next to the fire, giving Cotan a spot to sit down. "So, miss explorer - if that is your real name -" he winked after the little joke, "Why're you exploring? Somebody else wanting to try their hand homesteading out here and hired you to scout a spot out for them, or are you trying to find the site where the old imperial science team was doing their research here, back after the Galactic Civil War? Because that," he raised a hand and pointed in the direction of the sun, "Is going to be about seventy leagues that way. That's about three hundred eighty-five kilometers, I think." He clasped his hands in his lap, leaning in towards his conversation partner.

"Or are you looking for something else entirely? People don't really look around just to look around out here in the Kathol sector, that I've noticed. Too much history, too many untapped resources. So what is it you're after?"

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

"Would you believe me if I said I was hunting for buried treasure?" she inquired with a somewhat coy tone and expression, one slender eyebrow raising in wonder while simultaneously goading him on. It wasn't so much that she was trying to dodge his question, far from it; so far, everything he had said since relaxing his trigger happy finger pointed toward a lighthearted individual who wouldn't take offense to a little bit of banter, an obvious joke.

When he expressed a desire for some tea her whole face lit up. It had become a tradition of hers by this point, something she had done every single morning since she was old enough to boil the kettle herself, a gesture of love and goodwill to her Father, and now a way to set strangers at ease, and assure them that she meant no ill. For who harmed those they had broken bread with? Certainly not a Hex!

Reaching for one of the spare ceramic cups which hung on the exterior of the backpack at her side, Asha leaned forward and began to pour him a steaming mug of fruity tea. Then, with both hands, she offered it across to him, even going so far as to bow her head in the process.

"It's my own blend," she informed him, "Some of those leaves I actually grew myself." It was wonderful to have a place to call home, a luxury she had never known until she had built the hut back on Aurum. Something she would never take for granted. The aroma would be appealing, drawing him in, but the taste was something else all together. It had the strange quality of tasting a little differently to anyone who tried it, something which would agree with their pallet, and make them feel at ease.

She watched as he removed his coat, revealing a lightsaber on his hip. For her own part, Asha had two tucked on the back of her belt though neither had seen action in the longest time, and even then she had only drawn them in defense, utilizing them to destroy weapons or disarm as opposed to injure. Such was simply not her way. Of course, being [member='Jericho']'s daughter meant she had been trained from a frightfully young age in its use, she was far from incompetent. But knowing how to do damage and choosing to were vastly different things indeed.

Taking up her own cup she sipped on its contents and pondered an answer to his pesky questions. "I happen to love this Region of space," she informed him, "It is said that the Aing-Tii are close by, though I haven't had the pleasure of actually finding their homeworld. Yet." Hopefully one day that would change, after all she had dedicated much of her earlier studies to that particular Force Sect, she derived much of her belief in the Force from their theories, she had taught herself through years of arduous practice, aboard a floating graveyard of death and misery, how to immerse herself in the art of Flow Walking... Though she was a Je'daii through and through, she lived to see the day she could meet an Aing-Tii monk for the first time.

"I assure you, I have no need for the native resources, nor do I seek the rich history - though now you have me interested, in all honesty, and I probably will seek out more information on it... I suppose in a way I am scouting it out, but then this isn't the only world I've done similar to. I was raised to explore wildlife rich lands such as this, to appreciate them for what they are. And truly, it is magnificent..."

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"]

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Cotan sat and listened carefully, sipping at the tea once it was handed over to him. He had to admit two things: One, the girl made good tea. Two, she was doing a very good job at not actually giving him any useful information at all, at least regarding why she was around. 'Scouting' was the most she had told him. However, given her somewhat obvious Force Sensitivity, her interest in both history and the Aing-tii, the way she spoke about having been raised to scout like this, and the high class-ish way she spoke (she certainly didn't speak with the same Outer Rim drawl that Cotan had learned to imitate since living in the area), there was just enough there to give Cotan ideas on what avenues of conversation to follow if he intended to learn anything.

"Good tea," he said before continuing the conversation any further, giving the girl a nod. "But, the Aing-tii? You're a long ways off from their usual stomping grounds; it'd take you about two and a half months to get there, with a class-one hyperdrive, and that's just the entrance to the Rift. Navigation out here is pretty tricky, not like back in the mid rim or the core." He drained the cup, holding it in one hand while he straightened his back, no longer leaning in so much as before. "Some people like that, though. Makes it easier to get lost and to be alone."

The mixture of whimsical and determined tone in her voice talking about the Aing-tii made it seem rather obvious - to Cotan's estimation, at least - that she was somebody who was learning about the Force. Whether that was alone or as part of a group had yet to be determined; mentioning that she'd been raised to explore places like this, even while she seemed to be trying to direct him off the idea of actual scouting, made him suspect the latter. Not that he didn't have misgivings towards the idea of a barely-adult person being sent out alone to scout out a planet that was nearly uninhabited, other than a few farmsteads, a small settlement that might try to turn into a city, natives that were only starting to re-civilize, and some Dathomirian Witch-offshoots. Not everybody who wanted to get lost and be alone was particularly good or reasonable.

"So then, miss explorer, are you part of the get lost group, the be alone group, both...or a different group entirely?" He gave a small smirk, reasonably assured in his belief that she wasn't doing this scouting as a completely personal venture. "If you've got a family coming out here, it might be a good idea to talk to some of the locals, make sure you know who actually has claimed what amount of land and where. Even with the ORC around trying to maintain a semblance of unity between the planets, coming this far past Kal'shebbol gets you into some of the most sparsely-governed areas of the galaxy. The Kathol Republic, Qektoth Confederation, and Pimbrellan League don't really do much outside of their own little spheres of influence." He did a few more mental calculations, thinking about travel times and distances and just how annoying it would really be to deal with the nominal government and whether or not it would be worth it to mention it all.

"If you go deep enough in, though - about five months or so of travel through the Rift, and that's if you're lucky - you can get to Demonsgate. It's supposed to be the capital of the ORC, although that really goes to Foundation - not like they'll ever let you on that station. I've been working as a Judge for nearly a year and a half and they still won't let me on there. Demonsgate would be a good place to go to work out any settlement details in the Kathol Sector, though. Kal'shebbol is technically the sector capital, but it's impossible to get anything done there, since they leave a lot of the governing details of the overall area to the ORC and to the diplomats on Foundation." He shrugged, lacking any other potentially useful information to give on the matter.

Regardless of what he might learn from the questioning, it was probably a good time to focus on learning more about the girl in front of him. It wouldn't be polite to conduct such an interrogation without trading names, after all. "I'm Cotan Sar'andor, by the way. Jedi Knight, although I doubt any of the major Jedi groups in the galaxy would recognize me as such after I left the NJO and came out here. Maybe if I went to Commenor they might, but that's iffy." He looked over the girl once more, before proceeding with another joke - after all, it seemed she didn't mind. "So, miss explorer, do you have a name yourself, or am I just going to have to call you the long-missing third Daragon sibling, reappearing in the galaxy after six thousand years? I don't think anybody would believe me if I started to talk about you that way."

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

"In this region of space, everything takes months," she offered with a shrug, "Doesn't mean I'm not closer to it now than I have been before. Who knows, perhaps one day I'll break into the Rift, and then things will truly get interesting." Lofty dreams for another day, though.

This stranger seemed to know a lot about the presiding government which ran the Kathol Sector, if you could call it such given than the ORC was far from a traditional government at all, and mostly just held a loose collective of planets. Perhaps he was someone she could speak to about this endeavor, though so far she had no reason to believe his claims were true.

"Oh, I'm definitely apart of the be alone group. Far less aggressive in their policies than the get lost fiends. They're so hostile."

She looked away from him for a moment, settling her free hand atop the head of little Azrael, and watched the stream bubble past them as it made its way down the very slight hill she had paused upon. There was a lot to consider, how far did she stretch the truth, how quickly did she come clean, how soon did she divulge the interest her Order had taken over this region... A very slight sigh escaped her.

"What exactly do you Judges do?" she inquired, tearing her gaze back to where he was seated, "Where do you stand in the grand scheme of things around here?"

She had to test the waters, see if it was worth bringing it up or not. Seemed as though he too had opted to go back to simpler questioning, though she figured that the larger questions still hung on the air between them.

"My name is Asha Hex," she freely stated, not bothering to conceal that much about herself, "I'm a Journeyer of the Je'daii Order, and it is nice to meet you, Master Jedi."

Again she bowed her head, respectful of the traditions of the Order he had once belonged to even if they did not align with her own beliefs. Her Father had started out as such, slowly tailoring his beliefs as time went by and shadowing the Master he had once had. But Asha? Asha had known no life outside of the Je'daii she now served.

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"]

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

Je'daii? That explains a bit.

Cotan returned the small bow as a gesture of mutual respect. And formality. Mainly formality, given that Cotan's method of showing respect almost always resulted in his willingness to have a free tongue around those he did know and respect, even if some of his former compatriots in the NJO disagreed with how he felt he was being respectful. "Nice to know you're a Je'daii and not a Silver, Asha; the way they've been doing things makes me think that they'd be more likely to try and take this area over than to just have peaceable discourse." That joke was slightly less of a joke than his other jokes.

In response to her question about just what judges did, he pulled out one of his two blaster pistols and his lightsaber, holding them together just in front of Asha. "The basic difference between Judges and Jedi is that Judges like to use blasters with their lightsabers. Having done so for a while now, I can see why. We're also really decentralized and not necessarily a full 'order' or anything, and a lot of us are Jedi. That, and we don't wear robes. Longcoats and dusty shirts are all the rage here in the Outer Rim." He placed both weapons back where they belonged, resuming his previous position. "Other than that, we do much of the same stuff. Keeping the peace, some law enforcement, generally a lot of helping out the local police forces. Less study time in a temple and more learning by doing, overall." Neverminding the fact that keeping the peace could be a bit of a pipe dream, in as loosely confederated a government as this. Mutual defense was one thing, mutual policing was harder to make happen unless there was a significant interal nuisance.

Like a missing pirate. I'll just tell them I couldn't find any sign of him once the sun sets.

He briefly contemplated returning to the questioning of just why she was on Aaris III specifically, although if she was with the Je'daii and it could be described as scouting, he was reasonably sure he could figure it out without any further questioning. It was just a good thing he'd directed her to the local authorities to set up shop on planet, if she or they were ever going to. "So, what do you Je'daii folks actually do? I can't really say I know a lot about your order, although I assume it's similar to the predecessor order before the Jedi Knights." While outwardly he looked perfectly calm and like his normal self, the inner Naboo-native in him was protesting against his word choice.

Did I just say "folks"? The drawl out here really is affecting the way I talk.

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

His joke was much too real, and yet she could not help but twitch a small smile all the same. She had spent a short amount of time learning from the Silver Healers during one of the times her Father had visited Voss, never an official member of the Order yet due to her Father's connections her presence there had been respected and tolerated. She owed her curato salva abilities to them, even if they were rather limited in truth.

Didn't mean she didn't have her own misgivings where they were concerned.

So much had happened in the years since that time, much of which she had discussed with [member='Veiere Arenais'] on Svivren; the Jedi Master had been extremely receptive of all she had to say, and had even learned a thing or two that Asha had taken for granted yet it appeared many in the Galaxy were unaware of.

"Funny how they formed alongside the likes of the Levantine Sanctum, who swore off dominating worlds and instead offered those within their influence little more than protection." Much in the way the ORC ran, she supposed, only out here they seemed dead set on keeping those promises in tact.

She listened quietly as he explained the role of a Judge, it was interesting to be sure and she felt certain that [member='Kyra Sol'] would find herself fully immersed in their way of life if she only gave it a try. The junker sister of Asha's best friend was always toiling away with one project or another, a lightsaber on one side of her belt and her trust pistols taking up most of the remaining space. She too was a duster wearing, boot stomping spacer. Not that Asha or Jyn had heard much from her in quite some time.

Not since Bakura.

"I suppose that we are your antithesis, then; our focus is on the study and observation of the Force in all its aspects. While you and yours focus on the Light, I will not lie to you and claim we do the same. As with the Je'daii of old, predecessor to the Jedi and the Sith, we focus on all facets of the Force, in moderation, in balance with one another."

She paused for a moment, a very subtle frown playing over her lips, before shaking her head and looking at him with a soft smile.

"Of course, that doesn't mean we spend all of our time in Temples, either, there's a lot to be learned from experiencing the Galaxy and all it has to offer."

Were he to feel her presence, truly look at what lay within her, he'd notice how the Force seemed stabilized; Light and Dark amalgamated with one another, neither fighting for dominance, neither controlling more than the other, in perfect harmony. There were plenty of Je'daii who struggled to find this osmosis like state, those who had not found the Order and its teachings until later on in their life, like Jyn, or who were naturally more inclined toward one aspect or the other. Asha, however, had been taught since the day she could first understand. Her lullaby had been the Je'daii Code, when she was first able to walk she was shown a very crude version of Alchaka, and taught to meditate both through motion and immobility.

Throughout all she had experienced, that had barely ever waned. Not even onboard the Graveyard which had acted like a Darkside Nexus.

"I feel more inclined toward telling you my purpose here," she said, after a moment of silence, taking another sip of tea after the fact, "However, if the information gets into the wrong hands then it would all be for naught." It was obvious she was weighing up the pros and cons, on the one hand it wouldn't hurt for her to make contact with the ORC, establish a dialogue which could help them further their goals here. Yet, this was for the sake of the Children... And it wouldn't do to risk their wellbeing by being too open.

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"]

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"You'd probably have to try rather hard to find a Judge that follows standard Jedi practice regarding the Force as much as I do, even among the ex-Jedi ones." His smile grew a tad sheepish for a moment, as he scratched at the back of his head. "Most of them are ex-Jedi for a reason, and consider themselves as such. I'm one of the only ones that says 'hi, I'm a Jedi!' before I say 'hi, I'm a Judge!' Most of the time, anyways." Considering he had just introduced himself first as a Judge mere moments ago, rather than as a Jedi, in a sense. The Judge bit certainly came out first. Some of the other Judges might be positively impressed that such a thing had happened with Cotan.

Then Asha herself started moving back towards the topic of why she was here, but stopped short of telling him. "Well, miss Hex, I'm not in the habit of sharing secrets like some others are, although if you'd humour me, I'd like to try and guess at why you're here, based on what you've been telling me." He brought both of his hands up in between them, starting to tick off his conclusions by the finger. "One, when I was pestering you to define your exploring, you told me it could be considered scouting. Sure, you tried to pass it off as a sort of innocent comment, but I haven't gotten along as far as I have without being able to pick up on stuff like that." One finger went down.

"Two: You're a Je'daii Journeyer, which if my memory from historical studies serves me, means that you are currently undergoing your Great Journey, studying at the main temples...or whatever their equivalents are these days. I haven't heard much of anything about the modern Je'daii, certainly not since I came to the ORC, so I'm going to assume you don't have many temples, or if you do, they aren't near here, which makes it, in my view, highly unlikely that you're on your way to one as part of your learning." Another finger went down. Cotan had a small smile on his face by now, as it was obvious he enjoyed doing things such as this.

"Three, you're alone, and by the way you just started to talk about this, it's obviously something rather important. Combined with that, you seemed interested in how I was talking about the ORC, both governmentally and as a Judge. There's obviously something afoot here." The last of the three fingers he had first put up went down. "Which all leads me to think one thing - you, your family, the Je'daii, somebody you're associated with is looking for a place to set down and put up some habitation of some sort. Settlement, enclave, hermitage, whichever." He straightened up again, crossing his arms with a somewhat self-pleased look on his face. Mainly all for show, although it wouldn't hurt to slip a little pride in as well, Cotan thought.

"If I am right, it was the scouting comment that tipped me off, combined with your lead in to me saying I'm trustworthy. Nice to see that the Je'daii are just as good at the whole vague mystical crypticism thing as all their descendent groups." With a bit of eager energy he leaned back forwards, although not quite as far as during the faux-interrogation earlier. "So...am I right? Because if so, I can hook you up with passcodes to get the most up-to-date maps for the rift heading to Demonsgate. The fastest stable routes and everything." He really hoped he was right, that much was evident by the intent look on his face. "I really do hope it isn't an artifact. Last I knew Aing-tii have dibs on any artifacts in the area, and cashed in on those dibs centuries ago. It'd be really weird if there was some artifact that wasn't in any of the history holobooks."

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

He had her perfectly pegged.

She sat there listening, watching, as he made his checklist of observations and deductions; thankfully she knew better than to break form, and throughout kept up a very convincing poker face the likes of which her Father would have been proud of.

Thankfully this man did not seem malicious, if anything he was extremely excitable and eager to find out if he was, in fact, correct. Now was the time to decide how much she valued the truth. She had never been one for lying, hence why her prior responses had been so vague.

"You surprise me with your knowledge of the Je'daii, Master Jedi." Truthfully it was an extreme rarity that any knew who they were, most believed them to be a discounted Jedi Order but that was woefully incorrect. No, he even knew enough details to understand that she was on her Great Journey. Perhaps she was buying time, at this point even Asha herself wasn't sure.

Exhaling through her nose, she finally gave a very small nod of her head.

"I'd say you've earned the truth. I was sent here to scout out the local vicinity, its government - of which it is woefully lacking - in the hopes of finding a location perfect for an Academy. You are correct, we do not have much in the way of Temples, and while the original Tho Yor remain on Tython that planet is... Well... Significantly compromised."

Word had reached them of its horrific corruption, the planet would not be safe to travel to - especially not with Younglings.

"I'd appreciate discretion. This isn't the only planet we've looked into, but it's garnered the most interest with our Council. Naturally, before any decisions are made, we'd be contacting one of your higher ups, but it doesn't hurt to know what you're getting into before the fact."

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"]

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Yeah, well, for a guy that spent so much time with a lightsaber, I also liked to read a lot." He waved off the compliment with the humble statement, although not moving into the self-deprecation that so many others in the galaxy would resort to. "You'd be surprised how well the NJO has maintained their archives over the years; they have a lot of information on the old Je'daii order. Not nearly so much as the newer one that you're a part of, but it's nice to know things haven't changed much." The well-stocked archives had been one of Cotan's favourite things to go and use when he was a Padawan. The fact that he was now cut-off from their use was one of the few things that made him feel any regret for leaving the order.

He stroked his chin and beard, thinking about what else he might be able to offer that could be helpful. Obviously nothing involving Tython - as had been mentioned already, that planet was significantly messed-up - but he knew a lot more about the area and the governing bodies in it than Asha likely would. "Discretion is one of the few things in life I'm good at," he started, giving Asha a small smile with the joke. "Like I said, I can help you and any Je'daii Master involved with this get to Demonsgate and get in contact with some of the people in charge of the ORC; I might even be able to gain entrance to Foundation, although that would likely be difficult. They could help you guys work out settlement details and all that stuff, might even be able to help with construction." He spread his hands, palm up, the meaning of the gesture obvious: That's all I've got.

"Beyond that, the most I might be able to do would be to maybe get your guys in contact with somebody specific prominent in the Judges and/or the ORC. Maybe Jorus Merrill - if I remember right, he used to be one of the people in charge of the Underground before the ORC popped up to replace it, and I think he's another former Jedi. I'm sure he'd know more than me when it comes to setting up stuff like that, where to do it, who to talk to, all those considerations."

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

"We try to remain faithful to their original ideals, where possible, while taking into consideration the Galaxy's present climate. Even were it not corrupted beyond recognition, Tython would have been far too well sought after for us to take up roots there, we are in an age where Hyperspace Travel is readily available to most, and despite the millennia which have passed since the great schisms which led to the Jedi and the Sith as we see them today, it seems as though that world remains a point of contention between them. Our aim is to study and observe the Force in all its facets, not to be dragged into a timeless war. We've had our taste of what destruction such brings, and I'll be damned if we let it happen again."

She realized in that moment, of course, that she had become unpredictably passionate. It was not every day that she happened upon an individual who had heard of her Order, much less knew of them in some amount of detail. She was much too used to the common misconception that they were simply another Jedi Order, Lightsiders who refuse to play nice with the Silvers or the Alliance. Far from the case, of course.

"Demonsgate seems a step ahead of what we require," she confessed, with a very light shrug of her shoulders, "Perhaps in time, if bonds are forged between our people, then a journey into the Rift can be a thing we know, but for now... There is one suggestion you brought up that does make a little more sense to me. Mister Merrill, he is a man my Father oft' mentioned. If you could get me into contact with him, then I would be in your debt, Master Jedi."

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"]

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"I'd be happy to do so," Cotan replied, calling his coat over to him, and pulling his datapad out of one of its pockets. "I'm afraid to say I can't directly contact him myself, however - haven't really met the guy." He punched in a few commands on the micro-computer in his hands, pulling up some information. "I do, however, know that he spends a fair amount of time on Redshift station, alongside a few other places, which I do have the codes to send them proper messages and what-not. And," he looked up with a small smirk, "I know what codes and messages to send to make sure that not only do they get to him, but he basically has to reply. Special Judge communications and all that. I figure 'making allies and helping them get settled' would count as important enough for that stuff." Not that that would necessarily stop somebody from not replying, they'd just get an earful from whoever was in charge if there was an important communication that they missed.

He punched a few more commands into the datapad, his eyes rapidly sifting through the information that was getting pulled up for him until he stopped it on the document he needed. "There we go. Redshift station is probably your best bet, if I had to guess - from what I remember being told the last time I was there, he helped put the station together, and if he can be said to live anywhere other than his ship, it's there." He handed the datapad over to Asha, with a list of 'official' (as official as anything got in the ORC) communication codes and the like to start communication with Redshift station specifically. "If you want, my ship's hanging out in another clearing not too far from here. I could let you use the comm system to get ahold of Redshift and see if you can't set up a meeting with Jorus through them." A moment passed before a stray thought entered his brain as to why this could potentially be viewed as an odd and overly friendly suggestion.

"...Or, if you'd prefer, I could contact the local police forces up in orbit. They could send a shuttle down to pick you up and let you use their comm systems."

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

"Redshift Station?"

She made a mental note of that fact, before continuing to listen to what Cotan had to say. Despite the fact that they had only just met, he seemed more than happy to hook her up, so to speak, and she couldn't help but wonder how frequently the ORC received such requests from people such as she.

The Force works in mysterious ways she reminded herself, after all what were the chances of him happening upon her out here in the wild? As he had confirmed, there was no civilization for miles around. And yet here they were.

When the datapad loaded with codes was handed across to her, Asha took it with an inclination of her head. Her gaze shifted over the various comm-codes, before she pulled out a datapad of her own and replicated the information she needed. After all it didn't hurt to be able to do this on her own time.

"I have a ship close by, the comms on her should do well enough unless you think I'd have more luck using a Coalition certified network..."

Handing him back his datapad, she made a move to begin clearing up the various things she had brought with her, until only the teapot and the two cups they'd used remained.

"Would you like some more tea?" she asked him, loathed to waste half a pot of it if they had to journey out to one of the aforementioned vessels.

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"]

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Use the right codes and you shouldn't have a problem," Cotan replied with a shrug. He was somewhat glad to learn that the Je'daii in charge of Asha didn't just drop her off on a planet, say 'here, scout this out, we'll be back in a couple days' and leave. The galaxy was getting more and more dangerous by the day, and people didn't really need to be travelling around alone all the time. Neverminding the fact that that's what I do. He took back his datapad, putting it back in the same pocket he'd kept it in before. "Should have copied a specific frequency somewhere in there, anyways. Just put in the right pass code, get tapped into the encryption, and you'll be set." While Asha set herself about cleaning the very few things she had, Cotan - not really sure of his ability to help pack things into somebody else's backpack - surreptitiously poured himself another cup of tea, drinking it relaxedly.

Until Asha turned back to him after he'd drank about half the cup, asking him if he wanted more. He debated his options for a moment - eyes flicking back and forth between the teapot and the half-full cup - before he shrugged and quickly swallowed down what he had in a single gulp. "Sure!" His eyes were watering somewhat due to quickly swallowing the still-hot beverage, something which Asha might easily see. "How far away is your ship, anyways? Knowing where it is could prove useful in the current pirate-hunt going on, at least so that everybody else knows not to bother with this general area."

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

"I noted down a frequency" she responded with an easy smile, as she finished up placing her belongings away. Azrael finally seemed to awaken then, as though hearing that their time by the brook was coming to an end, and with a large yawn the kitty pattered over to Asha and leaped up into her lap. Lazy bugger probably wanted to be carried wherever they were going.

It wasn't difficult to notice the way he had poured another drink, nor how quickly he gulped it down, but she feigned ignorance regardless. She knew she could easily have been offended, the way Blaidd had been when she unknowingly picked up one of the teacups for him to pour. Apparently different cultures handled tea differently. She didn't mind though, it just let her know that another enjoyed her blend as much as she did.

Lifting the teapot she poured him a healthy amount before topping up her own once again. This pretty much finished off the pot, and so she attached it back into place upon her pack before glancing over to Cotan. A long sip of tea was drank before she spoke again.

"It's about a mile that way," she said, gesturing across the brook and into the forest beyond, "There's a clearing that she fit perfectly within, seemed made for her. I apologize for interrupting your hunt, if there's any way I can assist please let me know."

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"]

 

[Cotan Sar'andor]

"Nothing much to apologize for, really," Cotan replied, waving off the apology. "It's an entire planet with barely any habitation and a second-rate criminal that's either hiding somewhere or already ran off and nobody ever noticed. He'll get himself caught eventually. Now I can just tell the guys up in orbit that my sector was a false alarm." He finished off his last cup of tea quickly, before standing and shrugging into his coat. "Well, if your ship is a mile away, you'd best start moving towards it. Same with me, but mine is a bit further than just a mile. It's getting dark out soon, and I hear the native Aaris get a bit more active at night." He looked over in the direction of the setting sun, which didn't seem too far from going below treeline. Night time would come soon afterwards.

Not that Cotan was particularly worried about Asha's ability to protect herself, given that she was another Force-sensitive the same as him. Makes it a bit easier to avoid danger, if that's your sort of thing. He stretched his back and rolled his shoulders, getting ready for the walk that was in front of him. "Well, Miss Asha, it was nice getting to meet you, and being able to focus on something other than the impossibility of searching an entire planet for a single person. Hopefully you and yours can find what you need; as is, it's time for me to go tell the people in charge of me what happened and why they shouldn't just send me straight back to Zonju V. And, I hope you have a productive talk with Jorus, if you can get ahold of him." With that said, he fixed Asha with a final grin and a nod of his head, giving her a moment to respond before turning on his heel and walking back into the forest.

Now, where actually did I land...

[member="Asha Hex"]

 

[Lief]

She finished her cup around the same time he did, and shook off any excess from the teacups before setting them into her pack, ready to clean when she got back to the Prophet. He didn't seem too bothered about being drawn from his hunt, believing it to be a waste of time anyway, so she shrugged it off and merely smiled.

"I'm glad you ran into me, if it helps any," she remarked, shouldering the pack before reaching down to pick up little Azrael from the ground. The ginger ball of fluff was sleepy, but then again when wasn't that the case? Seemed as though it was time for them to part ways, but she would be lying if she said she hadn't enjoyed his company no matter how brief. A breath of fresh air when compared to more... stuffy Force users.

"Here, one second..." she said, before either of them could actually walk away, and she pulled from her pack a small piece of flimsiplast and a pen of sorts. She noted down a frequency, her own comm frequency, and handed it off to him. "Give me a call some time, so I can thank you if all goes to plan."

Stuffing the pen back into her pack she lowered her body into a gentle bow of respect and then turned to head off back over the brook and toward wherever the Prophet was waiting. A mile or so would pass by swiftly provided the sun didn't set in the meantime.

[member="Cotan Sar'andor"]