Ghosts

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Avalore Eden"]
[member="Cole Katarn"]

Jacen's expression soured. He nodded slowly to himself knowing that she spoke the truth. There was a limit to how hard the body could be pushed, even drawing on the Force. Eventually it all stacked up and - if allowed to come tumbling down - could overwhelm you. "Yeah alright. I promise. When I'm back I'll come past and we'll start some serious treatment," he agreed. Jacen was better at being away from the front lines. Back in the day he loathed the times when he was away from the front. Left to his own devices he only found boredom and his inner daemons. Things were better now. During his probation under [member="Adele Adonai"] he had come to appreciate the clarity that could be found in silent introspection.

A smile found his lips again. He might have forgotten the droid-based pun he'd been constructing as a follow up, but that didn't mean he needed to take the news in an entirely serious manner. "After all, I don't just bring handsome young Knights past because I've sent Stali to the arse end of the Galaxy again. Legwork is on him this time and the old man can take a back seat," he said, jabbing his thumb towards Cole.

 

[Avalore Eden]

Avalore gave Jacen a hard flick to the forehead.

"Stop sending Stali to arse end of the galaxy."

A gal has needs you know. She flashed a smile at Cole over in his corner of angst before tending to Jacen's shoulder, "I'll be holding you to that promise. Don't make me send Gabe after you just to get treatment."

A modicum of time passed while the Healer asserted her powers over the wily shoulder of the Jedi Marshal. An hour maybe, with short pauses of several minutes to tend to the twins. Jacen's shoulder was wrapped in a poultice gauze containing a mixture of liniment salve and bacta essence to help maintain some semblance of healing while also helping to keep inflammation down. Avalore bid [member="Cole Katarn"] to do the heavy lifting to allow Jacen the rest he needed before surgery, and reminded Jacen to take it easy before sending the two on their way with a box of fresh produce from the garden; as well as a hug and a kiss on the cheek for Jacen.

She saw them off with the twins in her arms, smiling the way any proud mother would.

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Avalore Eden"] | [member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Cole was patient, but he was also committed to something more than himself. So whilst they were taking care of the healing business the Jedi Knight was going through the saber forms in his head - trying to ignore the irrational anger that was trying to take control of him, trying to make his time spent here efficient and useful, trying a lot of things. Some said that it was easy to be a Jedi: just don't be angsty, overly emotional or feth a Sith, and you will already be better than eighty percent of the jokers, but Katarn didn't see it like that. It was difficult to keep your emotions under control when the skeletons kept on knocking at your door.

"Of course, Master Eden. I will make sure the Jedi Marshal does not overextend himself and pull another muscle." deadpan snark, he could handle that. It gave him some distance from the safe and warm home situation that was radiated by everything in this place.

The Katarn Homestead. His family's old, ancestral home, before his particular branch moved to Corellia - and unwittingly to its subsequent destruction.

They left the homestead in good order. Every step taken away from that place was a step that took some of the weight of his shoulders. By the time they were back in the shuttle and ascended into the air Cole was alright again - or as alright as a young man going through the usual emotional downturns and turmoil could be.

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Cole Katarn"]

The ziggurat loomed over the village. It wasn't even that close, just a dark angular shape that jutted out of the woods on the horizon. Yet with every step Jacen found his eyes drawn inexorably back to it. The village in question was really quite pleasant. Maybe five thousand inhabitants, a small shopping centre and medical treatment centre. And a few pubs, obviously. The pair of Jedi were checked into rooms above one of them and had meals booked for the evening already. Jacen had every intention of spending some time talking to the locals before making a decision on whether to visit the site.

"We should have torn that thing down brick by brick," he said as he pulled his bags from the airspeeder. It was mid afternoon here, but he already found himself tired. "Lets get checked in and I'm going to grab four hours of sleep. Grab some if you want, or else head to the shopping centre and start asking questions."

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

Cole often wondered if it was ‘fair’ to destroy the cultural and religious heritage of others. It was like waltzing onto Korriban, deciding they didn’t like all those Sith Tombs and then just demolishing them all in favor of something more pleasant. How were they any better than the Sith with their ‘New Valley of the Sith’ on Coruscant?

But the moment Katarn saw that ziggurat he had to admit something to himself. There were cultural and religious differences, and then there was just darkness.

Even from a distance the Jedi noticed something off about the pattern and design. Your eyes were drawn to small peculiarities. Dissymmetry. Angles that just didn’t quite fit with the laws of physics.

Illusions, probably. Because after a blink or two the effect went away.

But the pair of Jedi were silent throughout the trip, until they finally reached their rooms. Almost as if that tomb loomed over their shoulder until they could literally close a door in its face.

His own bag got dropped on the other bed and Cole looked out of the window. They had a room that didn’t overlook the ziggurat, they hadn’t had any need to discuss that decision either.

“I will mingle with the people for awhile. I don’t think they see a lot of robes around these parts.” the Jedi replied after a moment of thought. Honestly, he didn’t think he could get some sleep either. “If anything comes up I will let you know.”

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Cole Katarn"]

"Got it, just get my attention over an open channel for now. Guard your words though. We don't want to start sending any encrypted tunnels and gain the attention of anyone who might be worried about an Alliance attack," Jacen explained. "This evening we'll go and take a look, but we'll keep our distance. If there is someone in there I'd rather get confirmation they're dangerous and then call in aid. Who knows, maybe some homeless moved in and have been making some weird noises to spook the locals."

Jacen perched on the edge of his bed, arranging his pillows before lying back. Over a decade of military service, much of it on the front lines had made him accustomed to catching short bursts of sleep. It had been difficult to catch sleep properly since the last injury. He tended to roll over onto the arm and wake himself up.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

“Will do.” Cole left the room soon after leaving Jacen to his sleep. The main room of the pub wasn’t as crowded as it should have been though. There were clusters of villagers huddled around tables crossed throughout the establishment, but there was nothing like merriment or joy.

Just sour or dangerously thoughtful expressions, people nursing dark thoughts.

His presence did not do much to lighten the mood. If anything the ‘crowd’ closed itself off the moment he stepped foot on the ground floor. Almost as if they could sense that he was an outsider to their worries.

“What can I getya?” The pub owner seemed to be the antonym of his patrons’ mood. Bright eyes, an easy smile and a bouncy mustache that kept on dancing anytime he spoke.

“Got anything Corellian?”
“‘fraid not. Got some good-tasting ale, though.”
“Good enough.”

Katarn waited patiently for his glass to be filled and decided it was time to gently poke around a bit.

“Crowd’s mood don’t seem to be all that pleased, keep.”

The pub owner shrugged. “Don’t get a lot of your folk here, Master Jedi. Puts people a bit on edge.”

Master Jedi, there it was again.

“Just Cole, please.”
“Of course, Just Cole.”

His drink was pushed over and Katarn took a tentative sip. Huh, that is pretty good. Something of his appreciation must have shined over, because the owner snickered and nodded.

“Good, good. You have taste.”

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

[member="Cole Katarn"]

Sleep did not come easily to Jacen. His mind wandered. Every little concern he had seemed to grow until he couldn't push it aside. He seemed drawn to his fears and anxieties. One by one his mind drew a map between them. He had failed several padawans, Adele had vanished, his son was still lost to him. His son, a Force sensitive, on a Sith world.

Jacen roused himself, throwing the thin, damp sheet from the bed. He pushed up to perch on the edge of the bed, resting his face on his palms. As the fog cleared he found himself convinced that they had been wise to follow this lead.

Rifling through his bags, Jacen found some plain clothes. They were fairly typical of the region of space, if not tailored specifically to the fashion of the specific continent. Easier to appear to be from the sector, than to try and pretend to be local, even with the ability to read people.

Jacen headed out from his room. "Cole?" he called into his comm as he headed down the stairs.

 

[Arage Bao]

[member="Jacen Voidstalker"]

"The warehouse at the outskirts?"
"Aye."

Cole’s comm went off, but he ignored it for a moment. Instead he nodded towards one of the workers sitting at their table. It had taken a while for him to earn their 'trust'. Eventually, after numerous drinks bought and some of the cheer returning into the common room, Katarn managed to get a few of the laborers to talk. Not a lot that they knew, though.

Just that a few months ago a group of strangers had come along. They had taken up residency on the outskirts of town. SoroSuub used to have a little production facility thereabouts with a warehouse added to it.

But when the Final Order came around the corporation had retreated. Probably cutting their losses: at the same time the people here had lost their jobs.

So it wasn’t a wonder they were all annoyed, moody and distrusting.

"Thank you, Rys. You have been very helpful."

The old worker nodded, but before Katarn could walk away his contact gestured towards him.

The universal signal to get a little bit closer.

"Be careful out there, Katarn. It doesn’t smell right, savvy?"

Cole nodded and with that the conversation was suddenly over. Rys refocused his attention to his drink, and the moment of clarity was gone. The Jedi walked away, taking up residency in a corner of the room.

"Got a lead, Jacen. I will meet you outside."

 

[Jacen Voidstalker]

"Going out for the evening?" one of the staff called as Jacen walked down the stairs, now changed.

"I might grab some food and go for a little walk," Jacen replied with a friendly smile.

"About all there is to do around these parts," complained the girl. She must have been early twenties, Jacen figured. Not a great place to be for the young, this quiet little village. "There's a shuttle to the city on the hour though."

"Ill keep that in mind. You do food here?"

"Yeah, but if I'm honest," she said, lowering her voice, "The caff just down the street does a better meal."

"Appreciate the tip," Jacen replied before carrying on his journey.

Cole was outside waiting for him. Jacen fell into line beside him and carried on walking. "Breakfast time, well dinner. What have you heard?"

[member="Cole Katarn"]