How long had it been since he'd last been in the Core? Years certainly, he;d nearly say his time in Wilf Space went on for too long, but that would be a lie.
He spent precisely the amount of time he should have in such a region. Ever since the Brotherhood of the Maw's attack on Coruscant, and the squabbling that the New Jedi Order devolved into afterwards, he could not tolerate it any further. Seeing something he had given so much of his life to fall so far, fail to live up to its full potential. He knew he had to leave, cut it out of his heart before it could fester, his annoyance and disappointment turning to bitterness.
So, he took a vacation. Or a sabbatical. Retreating far and away from the conflict, losing himself to the unknown regions. Shedding his mantles, his identity, his desires and past. And instead just lived. Spending a year on some jungle world, reverting to a more basic primal state. Reinventing himself from the ground up. Part of him was pleased to find at the end of it, he was still firmly on the side of life and compassion.
After that, it was a simple matter of wandering. Following the Will of the Force. A journey that curiously never took him back into the broader conflict of the Galaxy. He instead stuck to the outer edges, caring and protecting the many who would have normally fallen under the cracks. The innocent who'd tremble in their homes while scavengers picked at the battle between titans that was occurring elsewhere in the Galaxy.
And that's how it continued for many years. Forgetting his overly complicated past, his triumphs, his failures, and through it all he found himself with something he never expected to find.
Peace.
A curious feeling from a child of war. One who previously had resigned himself to a life on the battlefield, defending the innocent from the predations of others. But, he eventually understood that the Galaxy would always be in conflict. So in all honesty, one really shouldn't get too worked up about it. The Force would always seek balance. So all of these Dark Empires, Evil Warlocks and various lunatics looking for conquest and eternal rule would always be overthrown. Either from within or some outside force seeking freedom
Call it destiny, divine providence, the universe hating tyrants. Whatever it may be, things always found their way back to something more neutral. All so people could try again and perhaps do better in this cycle.
In a way it was beautiful. Some might see the eternal recurrence and fall into despair. Thinking that any of their efforts meant nothing in the grand scheme of things. But Aaran grew to think the opposite. The universe would instead give people infinite chances to try again and be better.
He was content in Wild Space, just meandering from place to place, helping who he could. Teaching, learning, protecting, guiding.
At least until Tython. The echoes of that battle rippled throughout the entire Galaxy. It was a clear sign that Aaran had to finally go back to the Core. Return to the greater conflict going on and see what the Force wanted of him.
But, before he could return to Coruscant to survey the damage and prepare for the inevitable next blow in the war. He found himself on Bar'leth of all places. The Freebird needing to be brought in for some desperate maintenance and repairs from her long voyage. A process he was told would take a few days. So with some amusement, the former Battlemaster found himself with a few days to reintegrate with a more 'civilised' society.
Thankfully, he had not forgotten all his social graces. Or perhaps he had and the locals were just very polite and not giving him any grief for any acts of misconduct.
So it was with the free time he found himself with. He figured that he may as well take in the sights. Savouring the last few days of his vacation before he got back to work. And the University was one of his first choices. Where else than a place of learning than to relax, reeducate himself in the affairs of the galaxy and generally meet interesting people.
So it was, clad in more casual garb, sunglasses covering his face, he wandered. So caught up in his musing that he almost bumped into a panicked student. His body shifted slightly to the side to avoid a collision as a frown crossed his features. The fear coming from them was palpable. If more a mild social panic than any deep seated terror. But it was something that grabbed his attention either way.
Following the thread of distress to its origin. He found his gaze drawn to the rather large Saurian fellow. Eyes narrowing under his sunglasses as he quickly figured out what was going on. Bullies it seemed, were still a common sight. But they were an issue that he still found himself taking umbrage to.
And so it was, he moved, his presence muting itself, fading into the background of the universe. Falling in step behind the scaled giant, seeing what exactly it was they were up to. Because some nagging feeling in the back of his head told him that they were hardly here for orientation.
Alina Tremiru
Darth Strosius
Karkosuchus
Naren Cors
