Can It Be All So Simple?

[Zane Watts]

This new armour is so weird.

It was a strange sensation to be wearing Jedi-specific battle plate, but then again it was the closest thing Colonel Zane Watts had ever worn to an actual Jedi robe, considering it included a tabard and whatnot. There he was - no weapons other than his brand-new lightsaber built by his own hands, no squad of soldiers around him. Just himself, his transport shuttle about to touch down near the docks of Coronet City, and a vague hope that the Jedi Master he was looking for was actually here.

Then again, if she wasn't, then this was gonna turn into a really good vacation real fast.

Zane had one hope; as the new commander of Jedi Strike Operations, he wanted to diversify his skillset as a Jedi (now that he'd proven that, yes, he was the badass commando - he proved that over and over again in six Republic military campaigns, his street cred was fine) and make himself a little more useful to the Order. Learning new and more diverse Force powers, like precognition and healing, would be great. The Temple on Ruusan had recommended that he seek out reclusive Jedi Master Coryth Elaris, whom was a master at both of these powers. She had skills, and talents, that he would only be able to dream of in his unfortunately short life. Shame Force powers couldn't be flash-trained, anyway -this would be over, he'd say hi to a fellow Jedi, learn, then go home without inconveniencing her.

Nope. He had to luck out, find her first, and go off that. The only hint the Temple had given Zane was that she'd be on Corellia somewhere. The rest was up to him. Finding errant Jedi Masters was not his idea of fun, but he'd do it. He had to. If he wanted to fight off the threat of the Dark Side and be the best possible commander of Strike Ops, he'd have to do this. For himself. For everyone.

The Force tugged at his heart-strings; it played is quiet rhythm that he would find her. More that she would find him. It was a quiet little feeling, one he decided to follow. He wandered down towards Coronet's docks, hoping, praying - that she was here. He didn't want this to be for nothing. Zane was not one for wasting time - his own or someone else's - and if this was all an exercise in futility, then.

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Corellia - The Docks

Coryth had a dream the night before, of her meeting a fellow Jedi upon the docks. A strange dream, someone she'd never met, a Knight. She even had his name, Zane. Strange how the Force worked.

Coming into the docks, the tiny four foot, eleven women leapt from the boat, a rope in hand where she gracefully tied the Prophetess off with a few swift motions that demonstrated much practice. Her ship, was her home. It was the place in the galaxy where she'd spent the most time in solitude. Granted now, she worked for Firemane as a part time gig, which left her on Corellia less and less these days.

Reaching down, the tiny Jedi dusted off her bare feet with a sigh. Standing back up, she straightened her clothing out, a simple dark green snug fitting long sleeve shirt, and a pair of black slacks, a little worn, and rolled up at her ankles. All relatively new clothing, thanks to [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]. Coryth had a habit of not caring for herself. Clothing, the last thing on her mind. Though long ago she'd decide to ditch the traditional Jedi robes, in an attempt to better blend in.

Stepping back onto the deck of her ship, she reached down to grab a simple light tan cloak and fastened it at her neck. Her saber, clipped to her hip, but honestly at this point she wondered why she bothered to carry it. She'd only used it a single time in the last decade. Which was saying something for the Consular. The saber was just an extreme last resort, as it always would be. Well, that and she never had the physical strength behind it to truly be an effective fighter.

With everything now in place, it was time to leave the Prophetess behind and find Zane. With a soft smile upon her lips, she stepped back onto the dock. Reaching out, she expanded her senses in an attempt to see if she could sense the Jedi Knight. He was here, she knew it in her heart. Now, it was merely the task of finding him. Her eyes scanned the crowd, looking for his face, the one she'd seen in the dream.

A short distance away, she spotted exactly what she was seeking. Slowly she approached. Walking right up to him, she reached out, extending her hand to shake his. "It's Zane, yes? Or is there something else you'd rather be called?" She spoke softly. Having the gift of Precognition, had it's advantages. Knowing someone was going to show up, long before they did was always nice. "I'm Coryth, Coryth Elaris."

[member="Zane Watts"]

 

[Zane Watts]

The two were a caricature of perfect opposites. Coryth, the maiden of long, flowing red hair, a tiny little slip of a woman who excelled in the use of the Force and eschewed the physical form, with kindness and compassion her first thought, able to see into the future, living for a better tomorrow. Conversely, Zane, the young clone of Grand Master Ben Watts, literally bred to be a perfect soldier of the Force; physical, demanding, strong, imposing. He lived for the moment, designed to cut swathes through his foes in moments.

They could not have been any different.

A smile crossed his lips when he heard his name from the woman who emanated the power of Light. She knew he was coming - and that was a wave of relief across his psyche. He knew as well as she, in that very moment, that this was his new mentor.

"Zane works. Hi, Coryth. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He'd seen her step off her ship, which he regarded with a keen eye. It was rare to see an actual sea ship, but this was a luxury planet. They had to be somewhere. "Yours? It's a beautiful design," Zane said, appreciating the seafaring vessel - and then her captain with an equally keen one and a little smirk. Indeed, she was beautiful. Of that there was no doubt - but so many of his fellow Jedi disregarded that particular need. Besides, business before pleasure.

The Colonel looked back at her, his hands on his hips. "I won't waste your time. I'm looking for someone who can help me learn a couple of Force skills before the One Sith come back to bite us in the ass. Apparently you're the best there is. Would you be willing to help me?"

That was typical Zane - straightforward, to the point, the spectacle fighter. No point wasting her time saying no and him sticking around when she had other things to do.

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

 

[Coryth Elaris]

"Excellent, Zane. Welcome to Corellia." She said cheerfully, even with the hell she'd been through in her lifetime, it seemed nothing would ever take away her good moods. No one would have blamed her for being sour, or bitter at this point, but the woman was far from it. "The pleasure is mine." She said quietly, "It's not often that I get a new student to mentor." For she did love to teach, just the nature of her life, her work, kept her from it more often than not.

Glancing back over her shoulder, she beamed like a proud mother. "Yes, the Prophetess. She was a gift to me, some years ago. Just recently remodeled her and got a fresh coat of paint thanks to a friend." The ship, had been her home for a long time, or at least the closest Coryth ever really got. Though, Siobhan had gotten her into an apartment on Kaeshana, so that was something, but it still didn't quite have the same feel as the Prophetess did. Perhaps she'd have to get the woman's help to have the ship transplanted to Kaeshana and it's beautiful seas there.

Coryth neatly folded her hands together in front of her, at her waist, just listening to him. "I wouldn't have met you here if I wasn't." She said curtly. "The Force gave me the foresight to know you were coming. It drew us together, and that is a call I cannot leave unanswered. So, of course I will help you." That was always her guiding light. The Force was her guide, and she happily let it take her wherever it felt she was needed most. Reasons for her nomadic, hermit ways.

She smiled knowingly, "If I remember, you're seeking to learn healing skills, and precognition? Do I have that right?" Once more the little redhead glanced back to the boat, "And I believe we will need a space for training... You don't get seasick, do you?" Coryth had her preference for the oceans, and using them as a quiet reprieve from the city life. A great place to learn skills of the mind, if ever there was one.

[member="Zane Watts"]

 

[Zane Watts]

Zane's look of surprise was plain on his face; maybe if he was wearing a helmet it'd be different, but at this point he just didn't have one to wear with his armour. Yet, anyway. The more Coryth said, the more Zane was completely shocked by her. How did she know so much? How could her visions be so perfect? Was this her skill on display - was she able to divine the future nigh-perfectly? No wonder the Temple had sent him to Corellia to hunt down the redhead Jedi Master. She really was the best at what she did. Zane could not possibly question that now.

"I... wow, okay, yeah," Zane managed at first, finding himself honestly a little flustered. She managed that perfectly. "You have it dead on. You're good."

He found himself a little awestruck, if anything. That she had perfect control over visions, over the Force in the realms of farsight and precognition. That was a skill he wanted to learn for battle. Sit that in a Jedi mind-meld and he'd be an unstoppable force indeed - his fellow melded warriors could act on what they saw. The possibilities were infinite, in a world like that.

"I can handle the ocean. They drummed that into me in commando school," Zane explained. "I can swim and all that." If he couldn't, he'd never have passed, really. Swimming was a critical skill - aquatic insertions, falling overboard, emergency crashes, what have you. There was so much he'd had to learn.

...

Okay, yeah. "I gotta ask. How the hell did you learn to do that so well?"

Zane could not shake that from his mind. That was just incredible work on Coryth's part. Plus one hotness point. Not that she needed more.

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth seemed amused by his expression alone. While most of the time, her visions of the future were nothing but nightmares and hellish visions of wars to come that she couldn't escape, it did have some rather amusing uses at times.

"Thank you." She said politely.

Coryth nodded simply. "Good, good. That makes things simpler. I don't have to worry about you vomiting on my ship. As the rule goes, you puke, you clean it up, and I toss your ass overboard after the fact." She said with a smile, though her tone was extremely serious on the matter. With a wave of her hand, she motioned back to her ship.

"Shall we?" The redhead said before turning to head back towards the sailboat.

A soft chuckle escaped her lips, "It wasn't always this way. Certainly wasn't easy at first. Visions and dreams of the future, have been a plague on me since I was quite young. To have any chance of a real life, to not be constantly trapped in visions, control had to be learned. Actually had to learn to block them out first, before I could do anything else with them." As she approached the ship, she gracefully leaped over the small gap between the dock and the deck of the boat.

Turning back she waited for him to cross over with her. "It took a long time for me to learn the subtleties in it. To figure out what was going to happen and what was bound to change. As you know, the future is fluid. It constantly changes. I've found the more distance an event, the images are of it are foggy, details unclear and the more they change. As time moves forward, and you come closer to the event and the people in it, the clearer it gets, down to even the words spoken, and it nearly ceases to change. It was a considerable effort for me to be able to pick it all out at first. Now, visions come nearly effortlessly, and I can call them up when I want them there for the most part."

She gave a bit of a shrug. "It's an imperfect art form. If anything, it will just take time, patience, the ability to pick out tiny little details and recognize the fog that blurs more distant events. As well as getting used to your mind being invaded with images that you may not want there." After all, seeing the death of friends was a most unpleasant matter that Coryth didn't like to speak of. "Most importantly, you have to know that you can't change most things. A few you can, and you'll know in your heart which ones those are. The Force will tell you, if you listen closely."

[member="Zane Watts"]

 

[Zane Watts]

"I guess I'm not looking for anything quite that profound. There's enough spectres hanging over me already."

He left out two critical things: One, the fact that he was a clone of one of the Galaxy's most accomplished Jedi and that there were already enough expectations over him because of this already meant that he didn't want people looking at him like he could predict their futures. Two, the fact that he didn't have long enough to live that he'd want to see the future - being a clone meant he only had so long available to him. Seeing a bleak, damned future was not on his list of things to do. Nothing like predicting your own death in a few years, earlier than you wanted.

But Force, those eyes. they spoke to him. A thousand words. A thousand reasons to try and learn from her. Her eyes were just so beautiful, he was already getting distracted. The clone soldier would need to be very careful not to get so distracted she'd notice - if she hadn't already. His glance went from the ship, to her, then back to her - and stayed there for some time - as they walked to the ship.

He gave her a nod, an honest understanding that everything was going to be fine on that front. He knew what she wanted to teach.

"I'll level with you. I'm looking for something battlefield-practical - I'm a soldier and the Republic's just stood up Jedi Strike Operations and put me in charge. I need to be ready to fight the One Sith when they come knocking, because someone has to. I... well, I mean, I don't want to abuse your kindness and then go kill people with it. That's not what I'm here for. I want to do right for the people of the Republic, at the very least. Heal my allies, see the enemy's move before they make it - maybe avoid myself getting killed needlessly."

She'd hopefully understand. Zane didn't enjoy murder for murder's sake - in his profession it was very necessary, because killing One Sith soldiers meant that less innocents died, more people kept their homes and their feedom. Atrocity after atrocity was not welcome in the world of Wu Tang.

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

 

[Coryth Elaris]

"Believe me, that is a feeling I know all too well." Her tone darkening, growing sadder. "Far too many in my life already."

A nod came, "I appreciate the honesty. However, I still can provide exactly what you seek." At that, she seemed to brighten a little bit. "You see, I'm not the best of fighters. My saber, isn't a strength, if anything it's a weakness. And if not for being able to turn Precog into a battlefield skill, to see the future just a minute or two ahead of time, it's the kind of thing that has turned the tide of battle in my favor, when otherwise I should have lost or worse." A sigh came, "It's more easily teachable than true precog. It's an extension of skills you already have, but have yet to learn the full capabilities of."

She shook her head slowly, "Look, the reality is this; people die every day. Not all of them can be saved. As much as I'd like for death to be gone from the galaxy, it will not happen. People have to die so the circle of life can continue. And sooner or later it happens. The Sith are plotting sinister evils, burning whole worlds. Inaction, means more innocent people will die. I know this. If I don't teach these skills, more people will die, who do not have to. I have a duty to see to it, that those who can be saved, are. If through teaching you, more live ... then that is all I can ask for." It may have seemed rather cold words coming from her, but Coryth had been around for long enough to know what the realities were.

"Just because I walk a different path, it doesn't mean you have to follow exactly in my footsteps. I don't expect that, from anyone." She smiled, "It would not be abuse, to learn from me, and use that against the Sith."

A shrug came as she looked away, "Even I'm not perfect or without sin. I've made my share of mistakes. People have died because of me. There are many things I'm not proud of. Things I try to make up for. So I understand doing what is necessary, and needed." Granted, a lot of those needed and necessary things, still haunted her. There were so many regrets she already had in her life. So many things that could never be undone.

[member="Zane Watts"]

 

[Zane Watts]

"I don't know many Jedi in your position so willing to compromise like that," Zane admitted rather freely. It was a very refreshing change of pace to hear words like that from a Jedi Master who preferred the peaceful path. "I know two kinds of Jedi: the kind that are very high and mighty about peace, and the kind that are willing to enter into warfare. There are very few compromises. I'm glad you're one of them."

Zane took a moment to wring his hands and look down at them, even as he stepped over the gangplank to board Coryth's vessel. Probably better to look down and be sure of his footing, really. "See... I know I'm a clone. I know I was grown for the very specific purpose of serving the Republic military as one of the best soldiers the Galaxy has ever known as nothing more than an experiment. I know I have no place divining a future I won't be in. I know I was made to destroy. I was very literally made to kill people. I can't avoid that kind of predestination when on a lot of levels I enjoy my job. But I have to be a good soldier and a good Jedi, obey the rules and all. So I have to make it work for myself. For everyone."

Once onboard the Prophetess, he turned around and offered her an honest smile. It wasn't his usual dazzling smile meant to impress the ladies. Not this time. It was a tired smile. Tired from considering a terrible future that was inevitable, but a true one because he felt that he could talk about that and know it. He watched for her eyes, and waited. He wanted to get lost in them for a moment - they were so beautiful it was a pearl of joy even amidst a conversation so heavy with subtext and personal meaning that it was worth it.

It was also very strange to be so honest with someone he didn't know. But this was two people opening up to each other on a level unexpected. She came here with knowledge - he just came here armed with the truth.

"If I can be the sword to your shield, I guess things might work out for us." He chuckled. "Can you believe I'm only really about four years old?"

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

 

[Coryth Elaris]

[member="Zane Watts"]

Coryth nodded, "It's true. There aren't many who will compromise. But, I'm not most Jedi. I'm starting to think that I may be something else entirely." As for what that was, even she wasn't sure. All the little redhead knew was that she'd never met a Jedi of like mind as her, who believed as she did, or held the exact beliefs that she had.

Her eyes had been focused on him, watching as he crossed the gap. He wouldn't have been the first to slip and end up in the water, if he had fallen. So, out of habit, she was ready to catch him, though he might not have been aware that was what Coryth was watching for.

As he spoke of being a clone, Cory found herself in an odd position of being uncertain of how she should respond. Usually she had words for everything, but not this time. She sighed softly, "I see." Giving herself a moment, she sorted through her thoughts before speaking again, "You say that, with such certainty. You may yet still, have a place in that future, that even you are not aware of right now." Always hopeful for a better tomorrow. It was something even months of Sith torture could not beat out of her.

She smiled, looking up to him. "I certainly would not mind having you as such. I suppose we will just see where the future will lead us." Kneeling down, she gave a quick tug against the rope that was holding her ship to the docks, the rope easily coming free for her. "In many ways I do find that hard to believe, but it's not the years in life that you have, but the life in your years that count."

She turned heading to the engine section of her ship, "Will just be using the engine to get us out of the bay, after that will throw up the sails and we'll see where the winds take us." She grew quiet for a moment as she quickly checked through things one last time. A small thought came into her mind. "Have you ever been fishing, Zane?" Yes, she actually had a lesson in such a simple action.

 

[Zane Watts]

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

"Yeah. I know lots of crazy Masters. We throw most of 'em in prison for being stupid. I've arrested more than one bad Senator and Jedi Master in my time," Zane said. "Hell, I saw one throw themselves from a Senate pod instead of being tried."

Darren Brunswick was the exception, not the rule. Shame he'd done it, but he was a fool.

"I guess we'll see what I can squeeze out of another twenty or so years," Zane offered. To be fair, he fully expected to die a warrior's death, to be killed on a battlefield; after all, throwing yourself headfirst into danger on a weekly basis was probably the best way to get yourself killed. Truly, he knew that the idea of 'growing old' wasn't much going to happen. Living wasn't exactly something he needed to do, because he was on a very limited time compared to most people, even his fellow Jedi - who could usually break one hundred.

As the ship broke away from the docks, it gave the clone Jedi a moment of pause. Here he was, readying for the biggest war of his lifetime, and he was out on the ocean, siling. How strange. A little quaint, certainly, but nonetheless this was probably the biggest departure of 'hit the firing ranges, then the gym, then the training room' that he'd ever really had preparing for conflict. Strange, indeed. Maybe it was for the best - he was going to need to be on top of his game to pull this off.

Then came a bit of a weird request. "Fishing?" The question came as a bit of a surprise, because there was no way he'd expect something like that. "No, never. I never really got that kind of time for R&R."

 

[Coryth Elaris]

"Oh, believe me. I've know a few that were genuinely batpoodoocrazy." She said with a shake of her head, as she steered the boat away from the docks, and turned the boat to run parallel to the shore for a brief moment. "Old, wise, but still entirely batpoodoocrazy when you really got down to it."
She paused for a second, "Threw himself off a senate pod? The hell was he smoking... There are far less painful ways to go if you really want to avoid being tried for something... Sheesh." The benefits of working in medicine for far too long. Coryth knew more than she wanted to.

The little Jedi sighed softly, "You know, as strange as it is to see the future, I mostly see other peoples' future. Not my own. And I think that's okay. I don't want to know the ending of my story before it happens. That... and well, my visions have an annoying habit of not letting me in on things that could actually help me before they become problematic." A shrug followed. Perhaps she could have escaped much pain in her life from the Sith that had kidnapped her so long ago, but she'd not have been the same person she was today without those events. "The Force is strange that way."

Coryth smiled sweetly. "It's not R&R. It's dinner." She said rather honestly. It was unsurprising that he hadn't given his militaristic nature. City boys... She still had a lesson in that. For you see, battle precog, didn't have to be taught in the midst of a fight. She fully planned to teach it, while they caught their dinner.

"I don't mind teaching you. It can be rather enjoyable." Well that, and he was going to have to learn, if he wanted food to eat aside from a few vegetables that she had on board. For her own amusement though, she was keeping the lesson plan to herself. She'd tell him, after she showed him how to bait a hook. But for now, she kept the smirk hidden, and inwardly chuckled. The redhead had to get her entertainment somehow.

[member="Zane Watts"]

 

[Zane Watts]

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

"I'm not even kidding you right now: we caught a Senator embezzling funds and overstepping his mark as a Senator by attempting to command planetary forces and commission an army from our enemies. When he knew what was happening, we went to arrest him during a Senate hearing when the truth came out - and he jumped out of his Senate pod. Dead on impact."

At that time, Zane had been the military advisor to the Senate. He'd been advising the Senate on the campaign at Roche- the invasion, the financial spending, the required military deployments. Roche had been massive. He was in the middle of his campaign to take worlds like Cularin, Hoylin, Tholatin, Ruusan- and when the truth came out about Brunswick, Zane had been the first to arrest him, at the orders of Supreme Chancellor Ardak Serifen. It was not meant to be - he took the coward's way out.

She raised an interesting point. "I'm okay with not seeing my actual future. I'd rather just focus on the present, on how to do my job. It's a little easier, I think."

But dinner, huh? Catching his own dinner. That was a first - normally it was either at a restaurant with big Senators or standard military chow. And that was... ugh.

"Well, I guess this is an interesting alternative to a dinner date," Zane said, finally... being, well, Zane, and looking to the redhead with a cheeky smile. This was going to be fun.

"I'm game. Show me?"

 

[Coryth Elaris]

[member="Zane Watts"]

Coryth sighed heavily, "Politicians. Sometimes I wonder if there is any real difference between politicians and criminals." She shook her head, "I suppose it's that politicians get a government paycheck to fund them. While criminals actually have to work for one."

The redhead nodded as she cut the engine to the sailboat. Stepping around she reached up and lowered the sail out and adjusted it according to the current winds. "Watch your head for that, it's a bit of a queen if it hits you in the face." Not that she would know, she was short enough for it to pass over her head without a need to duck.

She briefly went below deck, and returned with two fishing rods, already setup, and a small box of bait. "It makes it easier, for the most part not knowing my own. I'm not okay, with knowing how my friends lives will end. That's where it gets complicated for me." She said with a sigh as she handed him one of the poles.
She knelt down on the deck and set the box of bait between them. "I've always preferred live bait. Better to attract fish to the real thing."

"And it's not a date." She chuckled, "It's actually how I'm going to teach you battle precog." The little redhead said with the brightest of grins. Clearly, she was getting her amusement out of this project. "The same principles of a fight, occur in the ocean while trying to catch a fish." See, it really wasn't all that crazy after all.

Reaching into the box, she pulled out a live shrimp and carefully demonstrated how to place it onto the hook. "Just like that."

She looked to check their distance from shore. "But we'll wait a little bit to cast out, get a little further from the noise of the beach and other ships. Then I'll toss the anchor down and we'll have some peace and quiet."

She set her fishing rod up against the railing of the boat, with care that she wouldn't lose it. "Okay, now for the first part of the lesson, you know that our reflexes aren't truly quicker reflexes, just the ability to see a hair into the future to predict attacks, yes?" Assuming he knew this, she went on, "That is the ability we are going to key in on and expand. It takes effort, and energy to do so. Now fishing, is equally about skill as well as luck. It takes quick reflexes to hook a fish, now imagine if you knew a minute or so before that fish was actually going to bite your hook? It would take the luck out of the equation, now wouldn't it?" And now she was finally getting to the point. "That's the idea I'm working on here. I've used it for this purpose when I've been hundreds of miles out, and low on food. It's quite useful for that."

 

[Zane Watts]

[member="Coryth Elaris"]

"Depending on who you ask, some of the criminals do too," Zane said with a grin spreading across his lips. "All a matter of perspective. Or a politico wanting to fund his own army, either one." He jumped. That was that. Zane didn't have time to stop him - and there was no changing that particular future. Oh well. Problem long over.

Ducking the mastpole, Zane kept an eye out on the ocean. Well, it was certainly pretty, he couldn't argue that. Wasn't often that he got time to enjoy the ocean for enjoyment's sake, with the wind blowing in his face and the sky above just there, crystalline perfection in its wake.

"To be fair, I haven't asked you out yet," Zane said, the grin now plastered on his stupid face. "I'm sure I can cook a decent fish for dinner, though."

Protip: He actually couldn't.

Anyway, this is when things get fun, because fishing now equated to battle meditation and let's go with that. Coryth procured all the relevant bait and tackle, which meant that Zane's job of learning was now reduced to 'attach bait to hook' - which took him a few seconds - and this came down to 'let's cheat at getting fish'

"Well, can't say I'm not a fan of the idea," he murmured. Free food.

"So. Teach me how to fish," he prompted, holding his rod and reel and looking out over the ocea. He really did have no idea.

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Zane Watts"], [member="Coryth Elaris"]


Free food was always good! It was at this moment that the short stack of fire and Wu Tang got a big catch. Well, probably not the sort they had expected, but nonetheless. Without warning, all of a sudden water splashed against the boat, which was now shiny again after a much needed paint job and some repairs, and then suddenly the shapely form of a woman shot out of the ocean, having apparently been diving before until the maxims of Force Plot dictated she show up in this thread. She had been at the beach but then sensed the presence of one of her favourite redheads and swam over.



A bionic hand gripped the boat and Siobhan Kerrigan pulled herself up, wearing a rather brief swimsuit that proved terribly flattering because the fanservice demands it. The Void spirits are watching in the multiversal cinema, after all! It was obviously also...rather wet and so water was dripping down her body. "Hey, sweetie. Heard you were in the neighbourhood, thought I'd say hi. You got a towel handy perchance, dear?" she addressed Coryth nonchalantly as she ran her hand through her soaked hair. The dark brown mane had been tied back so as to not get in the way, though it was as unruly as its owner!


It was then that she noticed Zane, who was being introduced to the wonderful world of fishing. She felt the Force and the power of the Light resonating from him. Ah, light sider who felt like a Jedi, well, she could deal. Could not be that bad if Coryth was hanging with him. Looked and carried himself like an actual soldier though, as opposed to your typical holier than thou Jedi. "Who's your friend?"

 

[Coryth Elaris]

"True." Coryth said flatly, staring out at the ocean as the boat bobbed a bit in the waters. "After all, a spy is exactly that. A criminal with a government paycheck." She shook her head, far too much corruption ran rampant in the senate for her liking. If she had it her way, she'd throw them all into an arena, toss a few wild and deadly animals into the mix and let the problem solve itself. But this, wasn't exactly a lightsided thought. Nor was it one that she'd ever voice aloud. If there was one thing in this universe she loathed, it was politicians.

Coryth smiled, knowingly. Empathy was handy like that. She lofted a brow though and thought she'd test him on it. "Oh, really now? Perhaps I'll have to let you do all the cooking tonight then, since I'm doing the teaching." She chuckled lightly, only teasing him a little.

Coryth was just about to settle down to the meat of the lesson, when much to her surprise Siobhan Kerrigan appeared. Coryth stopped for a moment, and blinked. "Uh, hi." Needless to say, the tiny redhead, was a little shocked by the sudden appearance of her beloved friend. Coryth even found herself a little flustered by the situation.

It took a moment for her to gather her line of thought back, "Right, um ... This is Zane. Zane meet Siobhan. Just give me a second and I'll grab a towel." She managed with a smile, getting her brain back to where it was before Siobhan appeared from the waters of the sea, like a Greek goddess. Reaching out, she set her fishing pole down carefully, and walked back below deck for a moment and returned with two fluffy towels.

"Here you go, dear." Speaking softly, as she handed them over to Sio. "Wasn't expecting you to be here, not that I mind." It did make Coryth wonder a little if Siobhan was having someone keep tabs on her these days, given her nature for wandering off and getting into all sorts of trouble. The poor redhead seemed to attract it in spades.

"I was just about to teach him battle precog through fishing, if you'd like to join. But otherwise, feel free to stay. Could even hang out, and catch some sun to work on your tan." While it might have been a surprise, Cory certainly didn't mind the extra company. "Entirely up to you."

[member="Siobhan Kerrigan"] [member="Zane Watts"]

 

[Zane Watts]

Enter [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]. Now with added [member="Coryth Elaris"]!

Two sexy ladies on one boat. This just got a whole lot better.

So, instead of actually interacting with them - because, frankly, they had two-thirds of a conversation before he could even get a word in edgewise - he listened and learned. He listened to Coryth and the way she was with her friends. He looked at this woman that had just come onto the boat and realised exactly who she was.

"Siobhan Kerrigan, once of Omega... probably one of the Galaxy's most notorious killers," Zane said, grinning. And then extending his hand to hers, plated in ivory Jedi battle armour as it was. "Absolute karking pleasure and it's all mine. Zane Watts, Republic Colonel, vaguely a Jedi sometimes. I'm a fan."

See, here's the thing about being a guard to a Republic Chancellor and the Senate's military attache. You had to know the enemy. And your allies. And their top people. As it turned out Siobhan was one of their career officers for a considerable length of time. Her name was on basically every dossier of military engagement for Omega Pyre - and, by extension, the Protectorate - for an extended period. And boy howdy was she good at her job. The Zane definition of good, not the political definition of good.

His was probably on a couple, whatever.

"I won't bug you to death with hilarious stories of people who needed putting down. Instead, come chill out with us. We're doing the learning thing."

 

[Siobhan Kerrigan]

[member="Coryth Elaris"], [member="Zane Watts"]


Siobhan did most certainly not get regular intelligence reports from Mirien Valdier, reporting on Coryth's comings and goings. Not at all. And if she did spy on her, it was done in a loving manner. Firemane was a big...largely Sapphic family. Ergo it had to take care of its own. Besides, the little redhead was a massive trouble magnet.



Coryth's reaction was a cause of amusement for Siobhan because it was just utterly adorable. Greek Goddess was probably an accurate assessment of Siobhan's highly idealised self-image. "Thanks, sweetie," she said happily before giving Coryth an affectionate kiss and accepting the towel. To dry herself off since she was very wet and stuff. This writer is clearly in the mood to make lame innuendo but then this is a Siobhan post, so that's required.


She then turned her attention to Zane and accepted the proferred hand that was plated in ivory Jedi battle armour. Her grip was firm and strong. Personally Siobhan had always thought that robes, aside from being impractical, made Jedi look like tossers on the battlefield. One of the first things she had done after joining the 'Pyre was get out of her robes. Tegaea had been very obliging when it came to...helping her out. "Oh, goodie, I'm famous," she said sardonically. "Zane Watts, heard about the work you did against the Reformation League arseholes back in the day. Nice work."


Back in the day Siobhan had been a career officer with the 'Pyre, the Sword of the Protectorate. On first sight they appeared as simpler times, with the Protectorate and the Republic allied and the Sith threat more distant and the unknown regions not being eaten by Fringe Sith. Of course, that alliance had been a lot less rosy than the media tried to depict it as these days. The standoff at Polis Massa had not happened in a vacuum.


"Sure, I'd love to stay. Maybe you and I can go sunbathing later, Cory. Don't worry, I've brought plenty of sun cream." After all, she did not want Coryth to look like a lobster when they were done! She liked the short stack of fire just the way she was. "Battle precog you say? Sounds fun." Oh, and yes, Siobhan would be keeping on her brief swimsuit for the entire thread because she's Ms. Fanservice.

 

[Coryth Elaris]

Coryth shook her head and let the two of them talk for a moment. She was a peaceful Jedi on a boat with two soldiers, or that was how she looked at it, suddenly feeling very out of place. "No problem, my dear." She said politely, with a little bit of a blush after the kiss. For all her redheaded powers, bravery and strength Coryth was still incredibly easy to embarrass.

"Excellent. Here. Take this." Reaching down, she grabbed her fish pole and handed it off to Siobhan before heading down below deck and pulled another from a storage closet. Coming back up, Coryth had just managed to seem to return to a normal shade of ivory rather than embarrassed lobster red. "And sunbathing sounds great." In truth it had been some time since Coryth had gotten to lay out in the sun on the ocean and it just sounded far too tempting for her.

"Okay..." Now that Coryth was still a little flustered and struggling to find her thoughts. "I suppose I'll start back at the beginning since Sio missed the first part." Smiling she went on, "Reflexes in the force, what appears to be extremely adept reflexes is nothing more than the ability to see a second or two ahead, into the future. So that we can act accordingly. Battle precog fundamentals come down to expanding just how far you can see into the future, to a few minutes. Maybe even more if you are particularly skilled with foresight."

Coryth had been one of the lucky few who was extremely gifted with foresight, seeing even hours ahead when she wished to. But it was not without downsides. "Now," Coryth had her fishing gear all set, and now cast her line out into the waters. "I'm not a fighter, which is why I don't teach in that manner, you'd both kick my butt and then some." She knew her weaknesses far too well, especially considering who she was talking to. "The first thing you need to do, is get a sense in the waters of the life forms that are present. So open yourself up to the force, knowing there are millions of lifeforms out there, try and focus on the things most near to us."

A soft sigh followed, "Find your bait, there's a reason I chose live bait. In time you should get a sense in the water for it, and what seeks it." Speaking quietly, "Stretch your senses and try to see if you can pinpoint the moment our prey goes for the bait."

[member="Zane Watts"] [member="Siobhan Kerrigan"]