Desperado

[Connor Harrison]

desperado:
someone who is willing to do things that involve risk or danger: a person with no hope

Centrality Sector
Wild Space​

"My name is Justiciara Noctare. Taeli Raaf isn't expecting me but I need to see her at once if she is here. Darth Ayra is dead."

Joon had her ship in orbit above Erilnar once more, except this time she wasn't thundering down for a confrontation. She had cut the engines waiting for clearence to land, or to leave at once following the last time she was here.

It had been a few days since the congregation for Darth Ayra had passed, and when Joon had come to terms with the fact her Master and only real friend and enemy was not coming back. She hadn't told Joon anything about her health, or anything else for that matter. She was dead, and Joon now had nobody.

Except the burning desire to talk to Jedi Master Taeli Raaf again about recent events and what could become of the future for this wandering Apprentice.

She leant her arms on the console and brushed her hands through her choppy hair, sighing with exhaustion and a general feeling of lonliness and desperation. Her dark eyes glazed over as she stared out at the stars whilst waiting for an answer from below.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Joon"]

"Apologies for the interruption, Miss Raaf, but we have a developing situation in orbit," her security chief said, cutting into her holocall with Doctor Votoc and Jaxson. "The ship that woman from a few weeks ago has arrived in orbit, asking to speak with you."

"How interesting... gentlemen, we shall have to continue this at another time," she said, cutting the call with a respectful nod to the Anomid and her right hand man. She hadn't been expecting the girl back just yet, but perhaps events had forced her hand. As Taeli had been a shareholder in Chandrila DataTech, and still was, she had heard the news of Alicia Drey's passing. Publicly, it had been chalked up as an illness she had been suffering for several months now, but Taeli knew the truth. The woman had been slowly been being consumed by orbalisks and the dark side parasites had likely done their work as Taeli held the information Alicia had needed to save herself.

Had the girl discovered who she was or what she truly wanted for herself? Well only way to know.

"Send her landing clearances and have her escorted up to my office," Taeli said.

"Right away, Miss Raaf."

Joon would receive instructions to land at the main Aurora complex, and once she did, she would be greeted by several Aurora security guards and two Reaver droids that escort her all the way up to Taeli's private office.

 

[Connor Harrison]

"Thank you."

Joon was reckless and hungry for more, but she was a good listener and learner. She listened to the orders given, and had learnt what NOT to do from last time she barged in looking for a fight. Following armed escort, Joon flew the small craft she had taken without asking - now automatically hers after Ayra's death - and took it steady, across the familiar route to the large, gleaming headquarters of where Taeli worked.

She was escorted down under armed ships, greeted with armed guards, and marched through casual glances and hushed whispers to the large complex. She kept her eyes down on the ground after surrendering her lightsaber, ignorant of the fact it belonged to an ancient Dark Lord of the Sith. So Ayra said anyway. Who knew what she had said to Joon which were lies. And so the minutes dragged as she didn't say or do anything except follow the guards inside the cool office block, across a glass walkway and to the door of Taeli Raaf, which was open.

Looking up, feeling like a real vagrant surrounded by a wealth of class and respect, Joon brushed back a strand of crimson hair amongst the black and looked up at the Jedi and tried her best to puff out her chest and find that pride the JN project had instilled in her years before.

"Hello, Taeli Raaf. Thank you for seeing me. I expect you've heard by now the news."

That talk about "plans" still dug in her mind from their last conversation.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Joon"]

"Yes, indeed I heard the news," Taeli said, accepting the girl's lightsaber from the security guard who confiscated it. Addressing the security, she added, "That will be all. Leave us."

As the last security guard left the office, the doors closed behind them and leaving Taeli and Joon alone. Taeli took the time to examine the girl before speaking, gauging her mood and state of mind. She wasn't out of control or as... wild as before. Still she could tell that confidence she eas projecting was just that, a projection. She could appreciate the guts it had taken for her to come back though.

"So, Miss Noctare, did you discover who you really are or what you really want?" Taeli asked, leaning back in her chair and setting the lightsaber on her desk in front of her.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Like a student before a teacher, Joon stood, watching everything going on around her without moving head, just her eyes. She took in all the words, and even the noise of the guards leaving, Taeli's voice and the lightsaber on the desk sounded loud above the silence.

"I told you who I am. I'm a weapon for the Empire and student of the..." she blinked, a slight pause in present company that made her nervous, "...Dark Side."

She swallowed and licked her lips, hand behind her back and feet feeling heavy.

"And I want you to teach me, because I know you can. I need to continue the path I chose. And I really want you to help me do it."

There was lots to say, but Ayra had taught her when to shut her mouth and not think with emotions.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Joon"]

How disappointing, Taeli thought, as the girl spoke about who she was and what she wanted. So... narrow-minded. To enslave yourself to such a role, and to an organization that ceased to be, was such a limit on what the girl could actually be if she only allowed herself to grow.

"And why should I teach you?" Taeli asked, tapping her fingers on her desk. "I have no need for a student who has such a narrow focus and an extreme loyalty to an organization that has been completely and utterly assimilated by the Republic and other major political powers in the galaxy. But then, I stated that when you last came here. Perhaps more understanding is needed between us before a decision is made too hastily? Yes, that might be prudent."

Taeli gave a light chuckle as a thought struck her.

"Consider this... almost like an interview," Taeli said. "I think you do have potential, but we're going to have to drag it out of you. So, I'm going to ask you a series of questions and I want the full and honest truth and the best answers you can come up with. I shall know if they are not answers that are satisfactory. In that regard..."

She gestured for the girl to take the chair across from Taeli.

"My first question will be is why are you so loyal to the Empire?" she asked.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Joon just looked up at Taeli as she spoke. The stinging words were all too familiar to her, and part of her there and then was ready to just leave. Forget everything about the path placed on her by Ayra and just retire to some place and watch the stars, like Duro or Kalee. She didn't need any of this, and didn't come for another lecture.

But, she had come here to prove a point and to show she wasn't afraid. And the least she could do was honour the Jedi with the answers. She took the seat offered and dug deep for that confidence she had as a person - as a JN warrior.

"Because the Empire created me, and I am loyal to the ones who gave me life and a purpose. I know there are two sides in every war, but each side feels they are doing just. The Empire was my life, and I was ready to give my life serving them for the duty they gave me. Until it was taken away from me."

She looked at Taeli. She blinked.

"I'm sure even you know about being loyal to your roots."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Joon"]

"There is being loyal to one's roots and being ensnared by them," Taeli replied. "I, personally, was born in the Corellia system and was given up for adoption by my parents. I was raised by a couple on Lorrd, and have two sisters that are currently missing somewhere in the galaxy. While I appreciate them all, in life and death as both sets of my parents are deceased... I have forged my own path in life and not been hung up on what they wanted from me. In your case, you have stuck with the same role the Imperials gave you and made that a core tenant of your life. To be a weapon, to be used by others in war... that is very limiting in my opinion."

Taeli leaned back in her chair, the shadows of the sun beginning to set outside lengthening.

"An apprentice must be more than just a weapon," she continued saying. "They must be a student, an agent, a precision weapon if the situation calls for it. If need be, they will oversee other projects and goals that fit into their master's plan or operations if the master cannot do so. You say war is two sided, but no... it has many facets and hidden players... which leads me to my next question. In your brief apprenticeship to Ayra, did she teach you about who the real power players are in the galaxy? By power players, I am referring to individuals or organizations that have influence across the galaxy not just within a major planetary government."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Joon scoffed a little, and shook her head at Taeli's words. Listening to her was like having Ayra back in some other form.

"The only...power players as you say...are the Sith. The true Sith. Not the One Sith or their cells, but the ones born of the true Dark Side. People like Ayra herself. Bane before her. The Rule of Two. One Master and one..." she stopped. One Apprentice. Was Joon the Apprentice? Right now, after meeting others at the pyre, and seeing the will of Ayra, she had severe doubts she even was an apprentice after all. She swallowed, composing herself and feeling a flush of warmth over her body. "The Sith. Even the Imperials are controlled by Sith, so I understand."

She clicked her fingers on the arm of chair, watching them so not to stare into those violet eyes as she continued.

"Forgive me also, but you were a Sith, and then a Jedi, and now what? To me it sounds like you are being very limited in your own ability. Flitting one from to the other, changing your attitudes and alleigances? At least I stick to my true calling."

With a sigh, she then looked at the Jedi.

"I just need help to continue it, but I'm not going to beg. And I'm not going to serve the Light."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Joon"]

"If the only power players are the true Sith... then why is Ayra dead and the galaxy keeps moving on with nary a blip?" Taeli asked, more rhetorically than anything else. "To address something you mentioned, yes I was One Sith and I am Jedi... but where are you to say I am limited in my ability?"

As Taeli spoke the shadows continued to lengthen around them, but there was something else to them now. They were deeper than before, almost... alive and shifting. Across half of her face the shadows fell and the illusion that hid the Sith tattoos fell away briefly. The temperature in the room began to plunge, frosty wisps of air coming from both woman.

"I have learned the secrets of the dark side, I have learned the arts of the Jedi, I have studied with the Baran Do, the Fallanassi, the Theran Listeners," Taeli said, the shadows continuing to deepen as the sun set. "I have a powerful and respectable company that can work in the vast majority of star systems and governments. I have the resources to not only beat Ayra to Freedon Nadd's holocron, but also have reclaimed the holocrons of other ancient Sith for safekeeping. I am the furthest thing from limited in what I can do."

A flick of Taeli's hand and the shadows receded to normal, the temperature went back up and the tattoos disappeared.

"The true power players in the galaxy are the ones that have influence, knowledge or economic power," Taeli said, acting as though nothing had happened. "Danger Arceneau, for example, controls the vast majority of galactic trade hubs. When her company was threatened, she was able to contact other corporate allies and they forced even the Republic to back down. All that simply because Danger has influence over the galactic economy. If you thought Ayra had resources and influence in the sphere of the great game, you haven't seen true power."

Taeli leaned forward again, fingers on her desk.

"Recite to me both the Sith and Jedi Codes."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Like a child transfixed by an unknown horror swooping down on them, Joon stared, slightly open mouthed, as the chill hit her and the darkness seemed to wash over the pair, and Taeli showed a glimpse of another form - tattoos? Joon was in awe. That was what she wanted. And like a hypnotist snapping her out of a trance, the light and temperature resumed normality and Joon had to compose herself to listen to Taeli again.

She wanted to know the Codes? But what about the power? This woman - Danger. Ayra didn't know much, did she. All these other areas she had never touched upon.

"But, I..." she shook her head. The Sith Code had been burnt into her from Day One. "Peace is a lie, there is only passion. Through, ah, passion, I gain strength. Through strength, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory," she started fast but slowed. Everything she had been made to learn, she didn't have any of it. "Er, through victory, my chains are broken. The Force shall set me free."

She felt empty saying it. She wasn't free yet, at all.

"I don't know the Jedi code. I don't want to either."

Joon licked her dry lip and bit it, bringing her finger up to chew on the nail gently. She shot a glance to Taeli, and it would be clear she didn't appreciate this metaphorical weakening of her stature - what was left of it.

"What are you. Who are you? I wouldn't want to learn from someone I don't even know what side of the fight you are on. It's pathetic. All your theatrics and tricks used on me. Well done. Is that all you are? A big theatrical Jedi hiding behind her desk while others do your work?"

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Joon"]

"What is truly pathetic is you can't see beyond the narrow view of the galaxy that Ayra and your creators gave you," Taeli snapped in a reprimand. "Everything must be a side of a fight for you, must fit that perfect little black and white viewpoint... but where has that gotten you hmm? You have stated your enemies are the Jedi and the Republic, but you don't know anything about them. If you don't even know the words of the Jedi Code, then how can you hope to defeat a Jedi? If you simply say the words of the Sith Code, but they don't empower you or apply to you... then how do you expect to become a powerful Sith Lady? To defeat your enemy, you must first know them. Not just their battle tactics, but their history... their philosophies."

While Joon didn't appreciate her current stance being broken, it was imperative if the girl truly wanted to gain knowledge and power. Taeli was all too prepared to tear her world apart, piece by piece if need be, so the girl could finally see.

"Theatricality and deception are powerful tools, and I was a natural at them even when I was a child," Taeli said. "A true Sith, like those who follow the Rule of Two, rely heavily upon them and others doing the little deeds that inch their Grand Plan forward. They only dirty their hands if necessary."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Each word felt like a lecture, and everything Joon said was countered perfectly and belittled, regardless of what she thought she knew. It seemed the all-powerful Darth Ayra, now dead, hadn't been so powerful after all. She'd still be here if she were. The frustration grew in Joon after each biting comment and the questions that seemed to trip her up. Taeli wasn't listening, that was for sure, she was spouting off her own pre-presented speech to someone as unworthy as the clone. And so she snapped; again.

Joon stood and leant forward and slammed both hands, palms down, on the desk, knocking over a small antique of some kind.

"Well TEACH ME THEN!" Joon bellowed to silence the Jedi, eyes on fire. "Teach me all you know, the power and the manipulation and the processes to let me be who I was created to be!"

She stayed standing, breathing heavy, all cards on the table...along with her hands after slamming them down.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Joon"]

"I am teaching you," Taeli replied calmly after Joon's outburst. Honestly, did she think this little tantrum was going to intimidate her? "I must ascertain what you have learned before I can teach you the new, but clearly you don't have the patience for that. As you have stated, you want me to teach you so you can be what you were created to be. I want you to become more than what you were created to be... besides your DNA isn't just that of Sith. You're a mixture of the light and dark side, I observed that about you when you first came here to attack me through the Force."

Taeli leaned forward ever so slightly, her purple eyes hardening into amethyst.

"But if you don't have the patience to actually sit and answer my questions... then I'll resolve to the other method of learning what I want to know," she said, her voice barely above a whisper. "I can guarantee it would not be a pleasant experience for you as I would rifle through your memories and thoughts. So what will it be? Answer my questions and listen to me... or option 2?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

"But, I don't KNOW anything," she wailed. "Go ahead, Master Jedi Raaf, rip my mind open and have a look. I can tell you to save you trouble. You'll find me in a tank, a courtyard, a training arena, a spa, a classroom, a bed, and then outside on Duro, in a ship that crashed, living in rubble and the ruins of a facility, and then meeting Asemir Lor'kora and Darth Ayra of the Sith, and then travelling around the blasted galaxy being put through hell, then meeting you and some others, finding my Master dead and then coming back here. Done."

She looked at Taeli and smiled, a contrast to the temper before, shrugging and sitting after a few moments.

"Please, however, be gentle. No need for the second option. I will listen, and answer you as I have. But stop thinking I know more secrets than I can tell you, because I don't. We aren't all hiding secrets you know."

Flexing her fingers, the clone got comfortable and let her frustration simmer and cool off.

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Joon"]

"Oh, everyone hides secrets," Taeli laughed. "Whether they know it or not, because sometimes the best kept secrets are the ones that even the holder of the secret doesn't know about. Still... I appreciate the candor of that list you just gave and it tells me that Ayra didn't actually teach you much. However, she must have taught you a few things before her rather... untimely death. What saber forms and Force techniques did Ayra teach you in your brief apprenticeship to her?"

They were finally getting closer to the point of this 'interview' but Taeli did recognize she would need to temper this girl's anger if she was to be of any use as a student, iron out those kinks left over from whatever process had created her. She was interested in what that might be though, because these Imperials had achieved something that hadn't been done in centuries. Between the bio-scans from when the girl left and her own observations through Art of the Small, she didn't need to ask if the girl was a clone or not.

 

[Connor Harrison]

With the muted air of calm between the pair, thankfully with Joon being more placid and cooperative, the clone started to listen and compose herself. There was nobody out there for her now; she didn't owe Ayra anything. Joon had won. The Master was dead. The Apprentice had survived.

"She told me once, but I can't remember the name - it was based on diverting attacks, using momentum against the opponent. The last time I tried to practice, Ayra wasn't herself and tried to kill me. That's when I fled. It was the last time I saw her."

Gently she started tapping her fingers on the arm of the chair, but in a way to stop her mind raging over events of the past.

"There was no Force ability training, bar basic extension of the mind to feel the world around you. Kinetic, too. The basics really. She didn't show me much." She looked past Taeli outside to the picturesque planet they were overlooking. "I don't think she ever wanted me as an Apprentice. I don't think I was what she expected. Too much of a wild card. Too many questions. Answering back. Seeking reason. Everything she hated."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Joon"]

"Clearly," Taeli muttered, her own mind whizzing as she listened to Joon. More and more, it sounded like Joon had been a placeholder or simply someone that Ayra had snatched up so others couldn't. It screamed that Ayra had a contingency plan in place, which didn't surprise Taeli. For all the faults of Ayra, she had been smart and crafty enough to continue what sounded like the Rule of Two.

Louder, Taeli continued by saying, "Ayra was most likely not herself during that sparring match because of the orbalisks. They enhance the bloodlust and rage of their host so they can feed on the dark side energies they produce, but in return they provide an almost impenetrable armor from lightsabers and blasters and heal the host's wounds quickly. But you can see the problem they also create, so their advantages are not so useful in the long term."

Taeli tapped her fingers on her chair, in thought.

"It sounds like she had only taught you the very basics for an apprentice and the beginnings of Soresu," she said. "Which I suppose is good for this purpose as it means we have a relatively clean slate to work with, no offensive in this case. I do not mind if you have questions or need answers, but I do mind the wild cardness... but that can be chalked up to inexperience so that should level off eventually. I have a pretty good training exercise to teach apprentices patience. Now, my next question is... what do you feel are the techniques and lightsaber form you would want to learn? I'm sure, even though Ayra didn't teach them to you, you've at least read about some that piqued your interest."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Joon started to listen carefully to Taeli's words, and started to think beyond where she was now, and again about what she could be with someone who trusted her more. But, she had to remember Taeli was just as dangerous if not more so than Ayra. She was a Jedi - a Jedi! She couldn't become a Jedi, she just couldn't! She wouldn't! But, there had to be a way forward from this mess.

A few nods here and there to take the lecture in. It made sense when somebody else explained how Ayra was, and with those horrid wounds from the tomb, Joon found herself counting her luck more than once. And then came the next question. With a little recline, she looked out of the window again in thought. There was a great deal she had read about; so much filled her imagination.

"The ability to break a mind, like you said. To get inside one's head and hurt them from the inside out. To replace what they see, hear and feel with something else that brings them to their knees. And speed. Agility. To run and walk as if on air at great speed and not suffer injury or worry about the next step or leap - to know what's coming before it happens. That would have been useful to me." She thought again, biting her lip for a second. "What you said about, too. Having confidence and assetiveness over others to have true power. To be respected and known across the stars. Not just a doormat to walk over. And as for lightsaber forms? Well I will take any because I have never progressed to attack; always defense, and that never gets you anywhere in battle."

Joon paused, a frown over her brow, as she sat forward, letting her arms hang loose over her legs.

"If you teach me, what...what will I be. A Sith, or a Jedi. I need to know."

[member="Taeli Raaf"]

 

[Taeli Raaf]

[member="Joon"]

"I see," Taeli said, listening to the girl rattle off what she wanted to learn. Taeli was somewhat surprised it didn't include some of the more... mainstay abilities or powers that every young acolyte dreamed of obtaining and using. Still, perhaps that was the girl showing some humility and recognition of what her position was currently. Her final question was rather amusing to Taeli, bringing a quirk to her lips. So wrapped up in the black and white of things.

"What you will be... is what you want to be at the end of your training," Taeli responded. "Jedi, Sith, something not with a label. Ultimately, you choose what you want to be. I do not. I am merely a facilitator of information and lessons to you. I won't place constraints on what you want to learn, beyond whether or not you are strong enough for those particular lessons. In that case, it would be time that would determine when you would learn it. But your initial wantings... we can work with that. We will have to further your education... in a great many things."