Different Paths

[Riamah]

After answering a call in the Force to go to Umbara, Ra had met a man there. Their conversation had been quite interesting and on very short order, he had requested she help him learn more of the Force and how to use it.

Brent had been tested when he joined the First Order and they had decided he wasn't worth training. She hoped to prove them wrong and there would be another Force warrior in the galaxy. Even if she failed, he would at least have a greater understanding of how it worked.

She invited him to her home on Vjun, Bast Castle. The weather could be better, but she had no control over that. Luckily the castle had been built to last and had stood almost 1000 years. After she had acquired it, Ra had the grounds cleaned up and any repairs done to the building itself. This was now her home.

When Brent arrived, he would be greeted by an old man named Vincent. He was a former slave that Ra had rescued from certain death and he had vowed to stay with her until he died. Still carrying an almost haunted look in his eyes, Brent would hopefully know it was due to his past and not his present.

Vincent would first lead him to the room that had been prepared for him to drop off any belongings he had brought with him. He would then lead him to the library which was clearly a favorite room of Ra's. Along the way though, he would see she had made the castle a home for herself and the handful of servants that lived with her.

When they had met, Ra had been wearing what she considered her business attire. Of course, he hadn't known exactly what her business was. Now he had a better idea. However, at home, she was more relaxed and wore entirely different clothes. Her shirt was a light green and she wore a loose, long skirt of a copper color. The normal braided hair was gone and instead flowed freely down her back.

"Welcome, Brent."

Her voice was friendlier and the face of neutrality was gone. For once, if he could read people, Brent would see that even though she was sith, she wasn't evil at heart.
​
"Have a seat, please. Would you care for a drink or something to eat?"

Depending on his answer, Vincent would either close the doors as he left or leave them open to return with whatever was requested.
​
[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

The Celestial Bishop came out of hyperspace near Vjun and descended into atmosphere with a steady, gentle arc. Gates, Brent's R8, all black astromech droid guided it in for a landing as his organic counterpart prepared for the meeting. He wasn't sure what all this would entail; most of the Force users he'd seen were waving around lightsabers and generally charging into danger head-first. He hoped they wouldn't be doing that.

He holstered a pair of DC-44 blaster pistols in his ShadowZal, they joined a pair of sonic grenades, a sawed-off barrel concussion rifle, and a heavy disruptor pistol. He buttoned the trenchcoat closed, it craftsmanship gave the illusion they weren't there. Just to be safe, Brent pulled a Force Pike from his weapons rack and clipped it onto his back. If they were going to go into any melee combat training, he wanted to be ready for it. As he finished, the Bishop settled on its landing props. Brent strolled down the loading ramp, giving the castle an appreciative glance. Gates came up behind him with a trio of whistles.

"No, stay on the ship. Keep it ready in case we have to do a quick get away," Brent ordered the droid. He trusted Ra as much as he trusted any almost-stranger person he knew but in his line of work Brent had learned that everything and anything could always go pear-shaped.

Brent gave the servant a nod and a polite smile. This fellow looked like he was bothered. Brent could understand--the galaxy was a pretty dangerous place, and things only seemed to get worse all the time. Even he had a hard time slugging off the things he'd done sometimes. The place looked nice, it was more homely than gaudy and horribly decadent. That was a lot better than he was imagining when she said she lived in a castle. There were clear signs that this was a home to more than one person, but that was the point of a castle, after all.

When Brent was lead to what people of his class called the mud room to discard his personal effects, he unbuttoned his seemingly ordinary trench coat and began to unload its contents, sparing none. If he was allowed to, Brent would keep his force pike with him as he went into the library and his sunglasses as well. He noticed that Ra looked a lot more natural, and a lot less tense in her home environment. He didn't blame her of course, Umbara's wildlands are hardly a place to prop your feet up and enjoy a cup of tea.

"Caf please, black," the man said to Vincent before taking his seat.

If he still had it, Brent leaned his Force Pike against the side of his chair. He had always been pretty good at gauging people, and with a combination of training from the FOSB and practice in the fielding learning who was going to shoot you and who you could count on (not to mention his innate Force abilities)--he had gotten pretty good at judging character on the fly. She wasn't a bad person. She was dressed rather relaxed, she even had her hair down. Brent, on the other hand was still dressed mostly the same; black trench coat with a black dress shirt, and black slacks. It was simple, and what he was used to.

"Nice place you have here. I bet the neighbors don't party too much," he said reclining slightly and placing his hands on the arms of the chair. "Did the real estate agent give you a fair price?"

@Ra'a'mah​

 

[Riamah]

Vincent had an idea of the type of people Ra had visit the castle, so Brent would be allowed to keep any of the items he wanted to. The old man displayed no surprise at the amount left in the room and lead the younger man to the library.

Giving a simple nod at the request for the caf, he would go prepare that for them both and return a few minutes later. Those few minutes though would give them a chance to go over the customary pleasantries.

Inviting Brent to her home was a small measure of trust and Ra didn't feel he was going to try and harm her. Even if he did, she was confident she could protect herself. She sat down when he did and gave a small half smile at his words.

"This can be a lonely place, but I have my servants to keep me company. Actually, if you want to know the truth, I stole it...sort of. The previous owner disappeared and then the Dominion started going to hell. This place was given to me when all hope of finding Grace was lost."

Grace was the previous owner Ra spoke of and it was all the information she had on the other woman.

"I hope you journey here was uneventful."

[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

"I hate the loneliness," Brent said with a sympathetic nod. "Its pretty horrible to feel adrift without anyone to keep you company."

Actually, if you want to know the truth, I stole it...sort of.

"Well aren't you a rogue," Brent said with a wry smirk. He didn't know if that made her a squatter technically or just rightful owner by default. Either way, a home was a home. He had heard of the Dominion, but didn't have any dealings with them, fortunately. They had rose to power after the Battle of Kasheanna, during his medical leave, and fallen during the same time. He was glad to not have to deal with them. "Interesting bunch. I never got on that side of the galaxy to see or deal with them, but I heard the rumors."

He waved his hand slightly, "Pretty uneventful, all things considered. My ride out there," he pointed back toward the door he had come from, "the Celestial Bishop is a family heirloom. She used to break down all the time, but I spent a fair portion of my pension on parts for her to get fixed up and clear. Now my travels are a bit less eventful than they used to be."

@Ra'a'mah​

 

[Riamah]

For a moment, the look in her eyes became distant as she thought of her past. Ra gave herself a mental shake and came back to the present.

"I was raised by a single man, my master. While there were people around us, we really only had each other for company. We looked on like we were father and daughter, but our relationship wasn't anything like that. It was made clear to me from the very beginning that he was my master and I was his apprentice. In fact, I was raised basically a Banenite. One master, one apprentice. A rule of two. While that's just not possible to easily enforce, we somehow didn't come across any other force users in my years with him."

Vincent then brought the caf in for them and left, closing the door behind him to allow them to privately speak. If Ra needed him, she knew how to get him to return. Picking up her glass, Ra lifted in a small toast and went to address what Brent mentioned about the Dominion.

"It was with the Dominion I got this castle and my other home on Helska. Now it's not quite as lifeless there, but everybody there has come to work for me. My facility created Dark Troopers in the days of the old, ancient Empire and I had it rebuilt and repaired. They work there."

Her personal ship Ra got when her captain died. This was in a time of her life that she didn't know what she was, that she could use the Force and she was a simple businesswoman. Back then, she had learned to work on her ship herself.

[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

Ra explained where she came from, and how she became a Sith Lord. It didn't seem like she had much of a choice. She was raised that way. He wanted to ask where her parents were in all of this, but Brent's sound judgement won the better of that. They might have sold her as a slave, or Ra could have been an orphan. There just seemed to be so many broken homes in the galaxy these days, so many fatherless and motherless children. The answer was probably pretty simple. Too simple.

She mentioned Banite. Brent was vaguely familiar with the term. Instead of safety in numbers, they held to two being idea. It made sense, a lot of Force users seemed to be bent on self destruct for themselves and others. And somehow, they managed to elude everyone else during that time.

Brent took his caf from Vincent and gave him a thankful nod. When the doors were closed again, he took a sip of the bitter, invigorating liquid. "Good stuff." He craddled it in both hands, looking in at the dark surface for a few moments. He didn't know how much he could share with her just yet, but he did know he could share with her the basics. Maybe one day she'd know he was an opperative, and while he hated to lie, especially to someone who was so trusting to him, Brent knew that would have to be the reality for the time being.

"I was raised on Dossuun," he said with a half shrug, "Nothing really special about me. No Force, I wasn't Varsity or even Junior Varsity level with sports. I wasn't one of the nerdy kids, but, I was pretty good with poetry. I even had a scholarship lined out for poetry after high school. Full ride."

It seemed strange saying it right now, after all he had done, he shrugged, "But dreams die young I guess. Dad got in an accident at his shop, paralized from the legs down," Brent gave a sad smile. "Being the oldest, I gave up my dreams and enlisted. The signing bonus covered his medical bills, and the income helped supplement mom's teaching salary for a while."

The way she described her other home, it sounded like Ra was in the arms business. He would have to check up on that and see what all they could do and stuff.

"Well its a living," he said with a modest shrug, "What do you make now? Still Dark Troopers or do you make gear now?"

@Ra'a'mah​

 

[Riamah]

Having shared a small brief story of how they came to be where they were today, Ra sat back with a nod and took a sip of her drink. Considering where to go from here. Figuring she would go with the basics and go from there. This home was ideal for this type of thing. He then asked what she did now.

"Well, I still produce those troops, but keep them myself. You see, a time will come when it's right for me to come out of the shadows I hide in. I'm going to need an army for that."

If things had worked different when she was young, she could have an empress now. Sadly that was taken from her when her master died. On that day, she was named a sith lord. Maybe she had said too much about her future plans, but her words were out and she couldn't take them back.

"It is unfortunate what happened to your father. Is he still alive? My own parents were killed when I was too young to remember them. I only know my master from growing up. Not the best, but it could have been worse."

Setting her cup down after another drink, Ra leaned forward slightly. Placing her elbows on the arms of her chair, she looked across the space to Brent.

"Tell me, do you know anything of the Force or the codes various people follow?"

[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

"Well, I still produce those troops, but keep them myself. You see, a time will come when it's right for me to come out of the shadows I hide in. I'm going to need an army for that."

She said she was making an army. It sounded like she was planning some sort of welling up assault. People seemed to do this type of thing every day. He didn't mind, as long as she didn't hurt his family or tried to do something that would land him on an assignment to take her down, she could do whatever she wanted. For now, he was just glad they seemed to be getting along on good terms.

What does someone say to something like that?

"Well I wish you the best of luck with that," he said lamely. It was the best he could think of.

She asked about his dad and said it was unfortunate. It was nice of her, she may have had her eyes on taking down society or something like that but at least she was kind enough to recognize that family still mattered.

"He's alive, both mom and dad are. My family is pretty important to me, I would do anything to take care of them," he knew that when he said anything he meant it. His mind went back to when they were kidnapped and the horrific things he had done to everyone who stood in his way. The beings he had killed, and worse flashed before his eyes in a still-vivid image. The agent swallowed, trying to forget those dark memories, "Anything." he took a sip from his cup of caf, "I'm sorry to hear about your parents. That's a pretty raw deal."

Brent hadn't thought of how much he knew of the Force or the codes to follow it. He shrugged, "Not much, I suppose, just as much as the average person knows. I know its there and I knew a few basic ethics of the Jedi; help other people and all that. Sith seem to be all about power. And the Ren?" he shook his head, "All about the crazy."

@Ra'a'mah

 

[Riamah]

Letting out an almost laugh at what Brent said on wishing her luck, Ra shook her head.

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have said that, but hey, I can't take it back."

Shrugging her shoulders, ​she nodded when he said he would do anything for his family. If she had one, she would do the same thing. In a way, her servants were what she had as family and treated them as such...as much as she could at least.

"At least I didn't die with them."

Taking the moment to finish her caf, she did that he answered what he knew or didn't know about the various codes people followed. Nodding, Ra stood up ​and walked over to one of her bookshelves. Taking down a slim volume, she returned to Brent and handed it to him and opened it to a specific page.

"I'm not sure how you learn and remember information best, in that book are the various codes that have been passed on through the years."

In the book he would find three codes and a line by line break down of each of them from the author's point of view. She would give him the time he needed to read each code and anything else he wanted from that book.

"If you have any questions or wish to talk about any of them further, I'd be more than happy to."

[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

"Yeah, I probably shouldn't have said that, but hey, I can't take it back."

Brent shrugged and spread his open hands in a what-ya-gonna do gesture, "We all say things that are just a little bit awkward and weird. I'll leave it at that," he smirked, "Besides, who would pay attention to me? I'm just a former 'trooper. Meat cans. We're a dime a dozen."

Brent took the book in his free hand, you didn't see these often any more, especially in the richer, up-to-date sides of the galaxy. He remembered a fair amount of these as a young boy at the local library in their small town where he had many fond memories waiting for him. This one seemed a fair bit older than the ones he had used before. "Alright, thanks."

He nursed the cup of caf in his right hand as he slowly read the codes, taking them in and studying the words. He was basically familiar with all of them; he had been through a crash course the Jedi and Sith as part of his cultural training in the FOSB. But nothing had been this in-depth, but he had never touched on the Gray Jedi here. He saw bits of all three, Jedi, Sith, and Gray that he agreed with, but nothing that he agreed with totally.

"Interesting," Brent said offering the book back, "They each have their merits, good and bad, but I don't know that I agree with really any of them fully. Is that bad?"

@Ra'a'mah​

 

[Riamah]

"Everybody has a role to play in the grand scheme of things, Brent. Even 'meat cans'. In addition, you are still a person and as a person are worth something."

Ra wasn't talking about a​ material worth, but knowledge. What one gained in life was priceless if another person took the time to learn from them. While what he knew may or may not help her, her point was still accurate.

Giving him the time he needed to read through the book, she refilled her cup of caf and had a few drinks from it. Accepting the book back when he was done with it, Ra replaced it on the shelf she had taken it from. Making a broad motion to her collection, she turned to look at Brent.

"My collection is pretty much open for you to look through if you want. Information of all sorts is here. Light, dark, grey and anything that does fit into any of those categories. Some might be a little difficult to grasp right now though. Now in going through those codes and knowing the opinion of that author on what they meant...do you have any questions or want my take on them?"

Going back to her seat, she gave him time to answer her question and would continue from there. To her, the sith code felt the best and took it on a personal level. When she had a goal in sight, nothing would stop her from accomplishing it. Otherwise, she did not care of the differences between her theology and that of anybody else. Sadly many people felt only they were right and attempted to enforce their views and opinions on everybody else.

[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

How long could he keep up this know-nothing charade of non-self importance? If history was anything to go by, indefinitely. And no small part of that was because he genuinely believed most of it. Brent knew he was as expendable as they came. He was a gear in a machine. Even if he was an important gear, he was still a gear, and gears could be replaced the moment they ceased to function properly. Or when a better gear came along. But, at the same time, he did agree that people mattered.

"Your right," he said, "I just never considered my role important in the grand scheme of things." he shrugged, "I am just me. Nothing special."

He took another drink from his cup, he was coming up on the dregs now, so he topped it off, adding a pair of sugar cubes to the caf. He looked at the books behind her. They were extensive, he had noticed how big her library was when he came in. She took a lot of pride in her books, they were pretty important to her.

"Its been a long time since I've had a proper education," he confessed, "Most of my stuff has been through lectures or audio books since then. There's not a lot of time to sit and read for a stormtrooper on duty. I don't know, for me none of the codes seem to fit just right. There's just something missing from all of them. Its like they take experience and try to pack it down into a few words."

He shook his head grimly. His eyes lowered to his cup of caf. He thought he knew the galaxy well. He thought he had a grand idea of how the worlds were supposed to work. But life was a lot messier and deadlier than he thought. There was more killing and sabotage involved in life than he had anticipated. A shadow crossed his face, the shadow of a man who had seen things he wished he could forget.

"The galaxy doesn't work that way," he said quietly, "Its a lot more than up and down, good and bad. I don't think that life can be molded to few lines, no matter how good they sound or how old they are. Like when good men think they are doing the right thing and they accidentally kill innocent people," his voice trailed off and Brent's hands began to shake as he remembered Kessel, his first mission where he had accidentally killed dozens, possibly even hundreds of innocent men and women by accident in an explosion. His fingers lost their grip on the cup and it fell to the ground, sending a spray of caf across the floor and broken glass.

"Damn it," Brent cursed, bending on his knees to clean the mess up, "Sorry," he began to gather the glass fragments, "Tell me your take on the codes."

@Ra'a'mah​

 

[Riamah]

"In the grand scheme of things are any of us important? No, I might be sith, but I don't have an ego that big to think I play an important role. Just a person trying to stay alive. You are you and I am me. Neither one of us a big player, but priceless. You have a family? You would do anything for them, to them you are important and special. I have nobody to call family."

Ra didn't know what had happened with Brent and his family, but in their previous meeting he had said anything with an emphases on the word. Commenting on not having the time to sit and read as a trooper, she nodded in understanding. There was a time in her life where she didn't have that time either. Different type of duty though.

"I agree, the codes are all valid and attempt to encompass everything into a few words."

When he spoke next, it came across like he wanted to say more, but something held him back. Narrowing her eyes at him, Ra wanted to know the story behind them. Sometime maybe she would get it out of him, when he was ready to open to her though. Patience was one thing she had. Brent then asked for her take on the codes. Taking a breath before she spoke, Ra also finished off her second cup of caf.

"There is no emotion, there is peace.
There is no ignorance, there is knowledge.
There is no passion, there is serenity.
There is no chaos, there is harmony.
There is no death, there is the Force.

"This is the Jedi Code. Now if you take each line and think about them, you'll notice it doesn't make full sense. However, read beyond the words and instead think of the message. There is no emotion, there is peace doesn't mean one doesn't feel emotion. It means they have control over their emotions and have peace with them. There is no ignorance, there is knowledge means, to me, they will attempt to spread their knowledge and share it. Sometimes even enforce it. The next line is quite conflicting to me. What is your take on, there is no passion, there is serenity?"

Giving him the time to answer, she poured herself another caf and took a drink, setting the cup down before continuing.

"There is no chaos, there is harmony also deals again with emotions, to me. And the last line, there is no death, there is Force indicates submission."

It was a lot to take in and Ra fell silent to give Brent the time needed to take in what she said and see if he wanted to add any other thoughts.

[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

Brent gathered up the glass shards, setting them on the tray the cups had come on. He pulled a towel from the tray and got to work moping up the caf on the floor. The white towel turned a soft tan as it absorbed the liquid. Yes, he did matter his family. And he would do anything for them. He had. Most men who said that really didn't know what that phrase meant, and when push came to shove, they bailed. The man had literally killed for his family, murdered, to protect them and get them back. Again he saw the faces of his victims flash before his eyes. Brent propped himself up for a second, removing his sunglasses and rubbing his eyes. He took a series of short breaths, trying to get a grip.

"I'm sorry," he said at last, placing his glasses back on his face before he looked back up at Ra, "I usually don't have this problem. Some days are better than others with flash backs I suppose." He sighed, "Yes, I love my family. I think everyone has a family, or at least needs one. It does terrible things to us when we don't have those people in our lives."

He listened to her talk about the Jedi code, and explain her own views of it, her interpretation. He agreed with most of what she was saying it meant. He set the dirty rag aside and sat back down, thinking about her question.

"I think it means instead of striving for something, or being passionate about something, I think it means more of a peaceful take on things to let them be and take their natural course," Brent said at last. "It sort of sounds like we let it happen, we don't try to make things happen. But that kind of sounds like a contradiction of the knowledge. If knowledge is to be shared and enforced, then they can't just let things be. Its a contradiction. And still, sometimes the natural order of things is to be passionate. Or sometimes," he grit his teeth, speaking with the solemnity of experience, "Sometimes you have to do something. Sometimes you can't just let it be."

She finished what she was saying about the Jedi code and he sat for a moment, musing over it.

"It sounds like giving up," he said at last. "It sounds like resigning to fate, just giving in to whatever comes. Of course you have to chose were to fight your battles, and what battles to fight, but you can't just give up on everything. You can't just resign yourself to whatever happens. If we did," he shrugged, "Then all the bad people would take over and everything good would be gone. Who wants that kind of life?"

 

[Riamah]

After dropping the cup, Brent cleaned up the mess and Ra didn't stop him. If he hadn't done it, Vincent would have when they were done.

"Would you like another cup?"

If he said yes, then she would summon Vincent to bring another one. When he finished cleaning up the caf, he took his glasses off for just a moment to rub his eyes and apologize. Why she wasn't sure. On his further comment about the flashbacks, it became clear. A little half smile played across her face when he mentioned family and how not having one did bad things to people.

"I suppose I'm a good example of that."

Her voice displayed that half smile and the humor in her words, Ra just hoped he took it the way she meant it. When he answered her question about the code, she knew Brent felt the same about it as she did. Nodding, he then asked a question in return and that little half smile returned.

"I am sith and sith are said to be evil. Do you think I am? Now I know you hardly know or what I might do in a given situation. Based off what you do though, what do you think?"

No matter what Brent answered, she wouldn't lash out. She did want to know though.

[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

"Yes, please," he said when she asked if he would like another cup.

"I suppose I'm a good example of that."

Brent saw the half smile on her lips. He didn't know if she meant it as a flirt, or if she meant it in a more strait forward way. He didn't know her well enough to tell just yet. So he decided to take it with a neutral enough position. He gave his own half smile, "We all do what we have to do." His eyebrows wrinkled slightly, "Wait, are you hitting on me?" he shook his head with a nasal sigh, "You could do better."

She asked if he thought she was evil because she was a sith. Brent pursed his lips slightly. It was somewhat of a trick question, in a way. A question that defeated itself. And, moreover, it was a question where there wasn't really any good answer.

"I think if you were evil," he began slowly, "You wouldn't have invited me to come here. You don't gain anything by this conversation. You don't gain anything by offering me a fresh cup or this caf," he took his fresh cup and poured more of the warm drink into it. "You could easily over power me, your servants could as well," he clicked into business mode, his skills of analysis slipping into the open for a second, "If you were evil you would have already jumped me by this time since you skillfully disarmed me at the door. You would have given me a poisoned cup, and I would have already died. You would have already jumped me when I was on my knees, and more than that, you would have already disabled my ship. But you haven't. None of it."

Brent stopped himself. He had probably overplayed his hand. Those were things that your average storm trooper didn't know or notice. He reclined back in his chair, dropping two sugar cubes in his cup. His fingers gripped the small spoon he used to stir them in the mix.

"I think evil is a choice," he said at last, "Its more than just being Sith or Jedi. Jedi kill millions every day. So do sith. Look at Mirial after all." he shrugged, "And I think you don't chose that path."

 

[Riamah]

"Yes, that we do."

When he continued speaking and asked if she was hitting on him, there was the first real sign of emotion in her and it was surprise. Her gold eyes grow wider for a moment and a real smile showed on her face when Brent said she could do better.

"No, do you want me to?"

That smile turned into something that border lined into laughter. Not at him, but at the situation and confusion.

"If I was trying to hit on you, I would go about it differently. Not that I'm opposed to trying..."

The tone of her voice said Ra was telling the truth in both aspects. It wasn't something she thought about on a regular basis and preferred to allow certain things take a natural course. Though she may find him attractive in a physical or mental aspect, that didn't mean he shared it. Until he expressed it, anything Ra might feel would remain within herself. Unless he learned how to read her or pick up on her emotions and thoughts.

Brent moved on to answer on if he felt she was evil and his observations were quite apt. Except on her servants, she doubted they could hurt him if they wanted to. His answers were also greater than a simple trooper would notice about things. He sat back and finished speaking saying that evil was a choice. It was obvious he was more than he let on.

"Every person has the ability to be evil, even they think they are doing the right thing."

[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

She asked if he wanted her to, and for a second he broke into the first genuine smile he had in months. Maybe years. He chuckled, taking a rueful grin. He hadn't had a lot of experience with women in his past, he only had a few relationships, but he knew that women didn't say that sort of stuff unless they were interested in you. If she wasn't flirting then, she certainly was now. Brent had experienced his fair share of it in the field. It was one of the classic cat-and-mouse tactics of the spy business. Often other spies would lure the other into the bed, and somehow magically make them spill all their guts and secrets after they had the action. It had never worked on Brent, he had always been committed to his Angela.

"Yes," he said smirking. Then he remembered how badly things had ended, how Angela had been left in tears and pain, with a scar that would never leave and how she was left with months of traction and nearly died. Her insurance wouldn't cover it, but Brent made sure she never had to pay a credit, even though he was still footing the medical bills.

"I mean no," he corrected himself quickly as the pain of the last relationship was still fresh in his chest.

"If I was trying to hit on you, I would go about it differently. Not that I'm opposed to trying..."

"Please don't," he emphasized, his voice solemn and his face drawn and somber. Ra was nice, very nice. And she was aesthetically appealing. She was very kind to him so far, and there was really nothing wrong with her. But he wasn't ready to place himself or anyone else on that line again. Not for quite some time. His face softened, as did his tone. "But maybe some day you can."

Then she hit the nail right on the head with what he was trying to say. Everyone can be evil. He was thankful she didn't draw attention to his more-than-a-common-grunt observations. But he was pretty sure they hadn't gone unnoticed. Ra was sharp. She'd have picked that up in a second.

"Exactly," he said with a nod, "Anyone can be evil if they want to. Just like anyone can be good. The galaxy is too big to be defined in the black and white we are told to look for as kids," he took a sip from his cup and spread his hands wide, "I guess that is the big problem I have with creeds like these."

 

[Riamah]

Her words had the intended effect and they shared a good laugh and smile at the whole situation of her hitting on him. At first though Brent answered yes and then changed his mind quickly. It indicated there was an interest there and Ra made note of it. To emphasize it, he repeated the message, but didn't shut her down entirely. Nodding as she looked at him over the rim of her cup, her eyes glittered in the light slightly.

"There is hope then."

Ra said this after taking a sip and setting her cup down, she gave him a wink and that half smile again. Dropping that line of thought, she turned her attention back to the purpose of him being here.

"Agreed, however it is portrayed that the Sith as a whole are evil and the Jedi good. As you say though, the galaxy is not so black and white like that. Such is what people are taught to look for though. As for creeds, theologies and beliefs, I feel it is up to the individual to define what they mean to them."

Lightly placing a hand over her chest to emphasize her words, she attempted to make the point.

[member="Brent Smith"]

 

[Brent Smith]

He gave a sad, warm smile at her words. He wanted to be ok again. He wanted to be able to have a new life free from the many things that seemed to be getting in his way these days. This life was not what he thought it would be when he signed up for it. He had been promised to help people, to make the galaxy a better place, but they had never told him what it would cost him. But he couldn't give up and he couldn't stop trying at least. Even if he didn't feel like it, because trying was what made him alive. "There is always hope."

"Agreed, however it is portrayed that the Sith as a whole are evil and the Jedi good. As you say though, the galaxy is not so black and white like that. Such is what people are taught to look for though. As for creeds, theologies and beliefs, I feel it is up to the individual to define what they mean to them."

"I think," Brent set his cup down, gently guiding it and squaring the glass with the corner. He folded his hands together methodically, "That we try to simplify the universe too much. We try to make it simpler so we make assumptions. Its just easier that way. Its because we are too small, and too arrogant," he shook his head, "Too small to see it all and too arrogant to admit it. If we did, we could just admit that people are what they chose to be. But its easier for us to stay small and proud. So we make creeds and tell ourselves its that simple, then we tell others that too and it keeps us arrogant and small," he shrugged. "Then you have to ask yourself if we ever really knew anything in the first place or if we were coming up with lies because we were too arrogant to say I don't know."