I am Betrayed (Riuku)

[Evan Kenner]

A recorded message is sent to Padawan [member="Riuku Morvol"] via holo.

Upon opening his portable holprojector, the young Vanr would see his old chiss friend, Evan Kenner, sitting before him in the cockpit of his starship. Evan looked exhausted. His robes were torn, sweat seeped down his forehead, his long hair stuck in clumps, bound by the sweat and tears that have redefined the young man's life. It was clear that the past seven months of jedi training had changed the young chiss and made his looks be deceiving to the eyes. While only seventeen years old, Evan's maturity makes him appear at least twenty. His facial hair has begun to grow on his face, at least.

What would strike Riuku as most unusual would two things: The first being Evan's face. It would appear as if shadows had started to grow beneath his eyes. The blue skin on his cheeks even seemed to change to a rougher, darker texture. Dark veins and arteries may even be very slightly visible around his eyes, which, now that he saw them closer, seemed...bloodshot.

The second unusual part about Evan now wasn't physical appearance.

"Riuku, I hope this message has reached you and not someone else on Ossus...assuming you're still there." Evan's voice had clearly grown deeper over the past seven months. "Listen. I know your trust in me might not be as high as I would like it to be, but I can still trust you. We became jedi together. We were brought to Ossus together. So now...I want you to just listen to me.

"A few days ago, I signed up to go on a mission assisting the Republic with some dispute with pirates aboard the Republic Warship Testament. Master Varus Shatterstar was the jedi master that came with me and two other padawans, some girl named Ciara and a guy named Caid. It was my first mission helping this Republic I had always been so afraid and...skeptical of." It was at this moment that Evan closed his eyes and lowered his face. Placing his hands in his lap, he continued, frowning.

"Then...something terrible happened. The true face of the traitorous Galactic Republic was shown to me. The commanding officer briefing us took Master Shatterstar to another room after a small argument and...and...he karking...killed him! He shot the jedi master dead! He had to have! There were clearly two blaster wounds in Varus' body when he fell to the deck... The man, uh...I don't even remember his name...some dorky-looking guy with glasses. Dallas...maybe? I know his name starts with a D, but that's not the point!

"Riuku, the officer tried to arrest ME! He framed me and the others for Varus' murder! I'm wanted by them now! I don't know what became of the others, but I got away from them. I got my ship from them, which they hid from me, and flew away!"

Evan sighed, running his hands over his face. "The Republic...is evil, Riuku. I don't know why, but they want to kill off the jedi. That means you're in trouble, too! It may not be today, maybe not tommorow, maybe not even next year, but eventually they will betray you like they did to me. If they're smart, they'll do it while you're still a padawan.

"My point is...get away from Ossus. Get away from the Republic! I don't know where I am going, but if I find sanctuary among the stars, i'll let you know. You should come with me.

"Oh...and before I forget...the jedi. Their teachings left my friends wanting to surrender themselves to these Republic savages. The Jedi Code...is flawed! Folly! If you're smart...look to what they train you to resist. Yes. The Dark Side. If not for it, i'd be dead. It saved my life, Riuku, it is only evil in the hands of the impure.

"Trust me, Riuku...I'm...afraid...for you."

The message ends.

 

[Riuku Morvol]

Riuku was laying down in his bed in his dorm on Ossus. He held out in his hands a lightsaber crystal, a Solari lightsaber crystal to be specific, and twirled it, staring silently. I'm going to have to ask Bishop how to go about properly making a lightsaber, or maybe Nefertari...

A "Ping!" sounded from his datapad, interrupting any thoughts that may have followed. Riuku set the crystal on a small desk, taking the datapad and opening it to see a video was sent to him. From...

Evan?

Riuku quickly glared over at the other bunk bed, particularly the bottom bunk, where Evan had chosen to sleep. He has been gone for awhile now, I think he mentioned a mission of some sort.

Riuku opened the video, expecting a short video saying how he is fine, the mission was a success, blah blah. He was surely wrong, and noticed this immediately whenever he saw Evan's state. He didn't know what to think at first, and so he just let the video play, surprise turning to shock, and then to despair. He did not pause the video, not once. He just let it play. Then, after the first time, he played it three more times, unable to completely process what happened.

The republic killed a Jedi master? They blamed it on Evan?!

Despite everything that was said in the video, the most surprising as at the end

"Yes. The Dark Side."

Out of the two padawans, and so far every other padawan he had met, Riuku thought that he would have been the most likely to fall to the dark side, and shut out the light. This was early on, when he was still hesitant and without a master. Now he was learning the ways of Shien, and everything seemed alright. Not once had he been called out for his demonic appearance. And after that trip to Rhen Var with Nefertari and Evan, who, at the time, was acting strange, Riuku was beginning to accept what had happened in his past that haunted him...

Then this.

This can't be real, how have I not heard about this? Nefertari... I need to tell Nefertari!

He fled from the room, not noticing the liquid leaking from his eyes.

[member="Nefertari Sovint"], [member="Evan Kenner"], [member="Faratain"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

Nefertari sat in a seiza position within the temple's meditation chambers. Scented candles burned around her, and she could feel her power increasing. She had gotten back some of her drive since taking [member="Faratain"] as her padawan, now she was working on his training and becoming the woman she was meant to be.

The fact that the ghosts of those Nef was close to before she was frozen came to visit wasn't exactly secret, but she didn't really talk about it openly. The lady had just finished conversing with her son Yamanu, when suddenly there was a knock at the door.

"What is it?" Nef asked, sliding the door open

On the other side was Riuku, the Vanr padawan she had brought along with the young Chiss [member="Evan Kenner"]
Nefertari had, for a time, considered taking the winged creature as her apprentice. However, another Jedi had beaten her to it.

"Why, if it isn't [member="Riuku Morvol"]. What is the matter? You look as though a Sith Lord was in your dorm."

 

[Riuku Morvol]

Riuku was out of breath by the time he found [member="Nefertari Sovint"]. He realised he was interrupting... whatever she was doing, but reasoned with himself that what he just received was something that she needed to know, as soon as possible.

"Nefer-gasp-tari! I don't know, ... but something... something has happened with Evan!" He stopped for a second to regain his breath, then handed her the datapad, which had the video already loaded on it.

[member="Evan Kenner"], [member="Faratain"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

Nefertari couldn't help but feel a troubling feeling as she hit play on the datapad. If [member="Evan Kenner"] was inspiring this sort of reaction from his friend, it couldn't be good

The commanding officer briefing us took Master Shatterstar to another room after a small argument and...and...he karking...killed him! He shot the jedi master dead!
"I was unaware that Master Shatterstar was dead..." (OOC: Really, I didn't think he was.)

"The Republic...is evil, Riuku. I don't know why, but they want to kill off the jedi. That means you're in trouble, too! It may not be today, maybe not tommorow, maybe not even next year, but eventually they will betray you like they did to me. If they're smart, they'll do it while you're still a padawan.
Not another Order 66...

"My point is...get away from Ossus. Get away from the Republic! I don't know where I am going, but if I find sanctuary among the stars, i'll let you know. You should come with me.

If you're smart...look to what they train you to resist. Yes. The Dark Side. If not for it, i'd be dead.
Nefertari stopped the video and handed the datapad back to [member="Riuku Morvol"]
"Kark...this is not good at all! I will not deny that the dark side has saved a Jedi before, but it does not change the fact that it is like never cleaning a slugthrower. It will corrode over time."
The lady handed Riuku a scrap of paper
"This is a secret location. Right now, only two people in the whole galaxy including myself know of it. Send Evan these coordinates, we can sort this out there."

The lady waved her hand and the candles went out. She was about to leave and fetch [member="Faratain"] when a thought occurred to her
"Please tell me you have a proper lightsaber" she said to Riuku

 

[Riuku Morvol]

(OOC He isn't, apparently it was a jedi trial/test and he's alive but neither Evan nor Riuku know that, so everything is bad, but it makes for interesting roleplay)

Riuku listened to [member="Nefertari Sovint"]'s words, then stared at the scrap of paper. Well, that's somewhat convenient.

"Please tell me you have a proper lightsaber"

"Hate to burst your bubble, but I still only have the crystal and my training lightsaber. But... While I don't doubt what happened to Evan, wouldn't we have heard about the death of a Jedi Master? Especially if it was done by a republic officer, or by a padawan if the frame was successful."

Something didn't seem completely right. The fact that both Riuku and Nefertari had known nothing about what was happening was evidence enough of that. Riuku wasn't sure what to do, but decided to follow Nefertari.

"I'll... try to contact Evan, but something is still bugging me about this."

[member="Evan Kenner"], [member="Faratain"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

"I'll... try to contact Evan, but something is still bugging me about this."
"Indeed, there are many things about this which simply do not make sense. A Master is blasted dead yet nobody knows, they try to frame a padawan who did not have such an armament last time I saw him...no, something is not right."

Nefertari walked through the halls of the temple until she reached the padawan dorms. She gave a couple knocks on a door before opening it. The lady approached [member="Faratain"] and spoke to him
"Prepare yourself, Faratain; We are departing on a mission soon. I know it is short notice, but I just found out the details myself. I am afraid it is somewhat of an emergency."

Nef turned to leave, she was very troubled about this situation. The knight had taken notice of how close Evan and Riuku had become since she brought them to the Jedi. It was reminding her of the time she found out about her sister becoming a Sith. She would hate to see something similar happen again.

[member="Riuku Morvol"], [member="Evan Kenner"]​

 

[Faratain]

(I am very deeply sorry I didn't see this response utile today, I deeply apologize)

Several miscellaneous items crash to the floor as Nef Opens the door, breaking Faratain's concentration. Faratain replaces the items before catching up to [member="Nefertari Sovint"].

"What is our Mission Master, is it from the council? You look troubled." Faaratain asks, he doesn't know the situation, but he is desperate to figure out what could possibly trouble his master so.

[member="Riuku Morvol"] , [member="Evan Kenner"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

(It's alright)

Nefertari shook her head, sending a transmission
"The council is unaware of this. Only you, padawan Morvol, and myself know of it."

The two reached the rooms where the knights stayed, a protocol droid was waiting outside Nef's.
"M'lady, I hath prepared thy equipment as thou requested. Thine ship is waiting in the main hangar."

The droid handed Nef her utility belt and a duffle bag. There were four sabers this time. Two were proper, powerful blades. The other were Nefertari's personal training saber and another training weapon which had belonged to her friend Za'Vimi. Nefertari didn't want to hurt Evan if he put up a fight, but she was prepared for any situation.

Walking along, Nef briefed her padawan on the mission
"...There are several parts which make no sense whatsoever, Riuku is trying to contact Evan and lead him to the coordinates I gave to sort this out. I only hope we are not too late."

The two met up with [member="Riuku Morvol"] soon after Nef gave [member="Faratain"] the scoop of what's going on.

"Any luck with contacting our friend?" She asked the Vanr

[member="Evan Kenner"]​

 

[Riuku Morvol]

Riuku quickly went back to his dorm after speaking with [member="Nefertari Sovint"], and sat down on his bed with his datapad in front of him. He saw the small little "o" where Evan had told him there was a camera. Riuku had been freaked out at first, but Evan explained that it only turned on whenever the person using the datapad wanted it too, and that nobody was watching him through it. That made Riuku feel a tiny bit better about using them, but he was still uneasy when it came to using the camera.

Despite this, he decided to use the camera, so Evan could actually see him. Riuku thought that would help. He hit the record button.

"Hey, Evan, I got your message... and I almost didn't know how to react. I believe you, please don't worry about that, but everything seems a bit off. I spoke with Nefertari, and showed her the video. I hope you don't mind, it's just... If the republic is going after the Jedi, traveling alone would be suicide. It'd be best to bring along someone who is trained. Neither of us had heard about the death, by the way."

"Also, whenever I was heading back here, she was also going to the dorms, but went to another door, so I think she may be bringing along one of her Padawans. Or she could be just informing them that she's heading off somewhere... I'm getting off topic."

Riuku held the paper up near the camera, steady, so Evan would be able to see it. "These are coordinates to a place apparently only Nefertari and one other person know about... Well, we know now, but it's safe, she says. She told me to contact you and tell you to meet us there."

Having been a bounty hunter, he realized that [member="Evan Kenner"] may think this is a set up to trap him.

"If this seems fishy to you... Please trust me on this. Both Nefertari and I want to help you with this. Please try to get to the coordinates as soon as you can. I hope we'll see each other soon. Oh, and... The dark side... Nefertari said that yes, while it has saved quite a few Jedi in certain situations, it usually ends up bad... so, be careful." He ended the recording and sent it to Evan.

~~~~~~~~~~~​

Catching up with Nefertari and her padawan, [member="Faratain"], who he hadn't met at that point, he explained that he did the same thing Evan did, and sent him a recording.

I just hope I didn't screw up sending it.

Riuku was going to say something else, that's when he realized he had not properly introduced himself to Nefertaris padawan. While he had been at the academy, Riuku continuously told himself he had to develop manners, and that he had to be friendly. Riuku had seen Faratain at distance, but had never talked to him.

Riuku outstretched his hand towards Faratain. "I'm Riuku, nice to meet you."

 

[Faratain]

Faratain shook [member="Riuku Morvol"] 's hand, "I'm Faratain of the Eldorai, Padawan to [member="Nefertari Sovint"]. It's a pleasure to meet you, I'm sure we will recover your friend safely"

Faratain was naturally slow to trust, especially with an unknown species, but he treated the other padawan with the necessary respect, while he gathered information and worked on forming an opinion on him.

"When do we leave master? I am prepared to leave."

[member="Evan Kenner"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

"I have had a Valkyrie prepared for us. The plan is to travel to those coordinates I gave you, and hopefully meet Evan there. If he has fallen to the dark side, then he may put up a fight."

If Evan tracked and/or followed said coordinates, he would find himself in the core worlds. It was true, only Nefertari, a strange tinkerer by the name of Gean, and now these three knew about the location. It was in Sith space, so there would be no interference from the Republic.

The three made their way to the hangar. Nef recalled when she brought Riuku and Evan here from the rusty lizard, they had both come a long way since then.

"I am ready to take us out when you desire to depart."

[member="Faratain"], [member="Riuku Morvol"], [member="Evan Kenner"]​

 

[Riuku Morvol]

"I doubt Evan will attack us..." He wasn't sure if what he said was a lie or not. He knew Evan, but if he did go to the dark side...

It might not be the same person.

"Anyways, I'm ready to go."

[member="Faratain"], [member="Nefertari Sovint"], [member="Evan Kenner"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

"I doubt Evan will attack us..."
"You have no idea how right I hope you are."

The engines fired and sent the party of three out of the hangar. It was soon that they broke free of Ossus' atmosphere.

"I have entered the coordinates, prepare to make the jump to hyperspace. Also, keep an eye open. We are leaving republic territory for the core."
In true film fashion, the stars seemed to strectch and...

-WHAM!-

The ship made the jump to hyperspace. No turning back now.

[member="Evan Kenner"], [member="Riuku Morvol"], [member="Faratain"]​

 

[Evan Kenner]

Meanwhile, Evan is being held in the brig of a Primeval Star Destroyer. His datapad recieves Riuku's holomessage, but it will be some time before he is able to view it and respond...The young chiss' faith in the Republic and the Jedi slowly begin to die with any dreams he once had of becoming a Jedi Sentinel one day.

Changing the stubborn chiss' point of view, considering his past achievements in wielding the Dark Side of the Force by making use of his passion and emotion, will be an extremely difficult challenge for any jedi.

The jedi may reach the rendeveous point and wait patiently for the fallen's coming...

 

[Faratain]

After several days (Presumably) of waiting and training on the side, Faratain decides to bring the subject back to light.

Faratain approaches [member="Nefertari Sovint"] :

"Master, I don't think Evan is coming, what's our next move?"

[member="Riuku Morvol"] , [member="Evan Kenner"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

It was dark, just before the sun came up when the ship landed at the coordinates. Nefertari opened the boarding ramp and lit a lantern.

They were in a clearing surrounded by trees, chunks of stone could be found on the ground, clearly what pieces of what used to be houses. The most intact structure was a large mansion...well, most of one anyway; one wall had a large patch in it after what had obviously been an explosion. That was barely noticeable compared to the fact that the house was half timbers.

"I never did finish rebuilding before the OS took the planet. Thank the Force this place has remained undisturbed."

Who knew if Evan would show up? The party of three would have to wait and see. Hopefully the Chiss knew Nef well enough to know she wouldn't try to trick him into coming here just to trap him. If he wanted nobody to find him, this ruined village was the best place Nefertari knew of.
"We shall wait a few days here for Evan. I can teach you both some new skills as well."
[member="Faratain"] and [member="Riuku Morvol"] seemed to wonder where they were.
"This place was once prosperous, and there was even a Jedi enclave. Its' connection to the Force is unique. Padawans, welcome to Rosedge."

Several days passed as they waited for Evan. Aside from working on rebuilding her manor, Nefertari trained both the padawans in her three top lightsaber forms (Shii-Cho, Ataru, and Makashi) as well as plant surge, which could be useful for any Jedi, but especially for Faratain who was apparently working towards becoming a consular.

One day, Nef's padawan approached her and said "Master, I don't think Evan is coming, what's our next move?"
The Countess' reply was simple "I am unsure what to do. He has not contacted us since we left, and for some reason I am unable to sense his precise whereabouts. All I know his he is somewhere in space; far too broad of an area to sweep."

[member="Evan Kenner"]​

 

[Riuku Morvol]

Riuku took out his frustration and worry on two training droids he had taken from the temple with him. He had set them to fire randomly, both of them. Whenever he wasn't resting, or being taught by Nefertari, he was continuing the training his master set out for him. He was starting to get pretty good at Shien, and now, against two droids at the same time, he blocked most of their shots. He hadn't set them to max speed yet, and he knew that if these were real blaster bolts he would be in trouble, but his counter attacking was getting better.

After completing his training for the day, he noticed Faratain speaking with Nefertari. He walked over and managed to get the ending of the conversation.

"... All I know his he is somewhere in space; far too broad of an area to sweep."

He knew they were talking about Evan, and how he had not showed yet. "He still hasn't responded to my message... Maybe we should just leave a note, or something, for him to pick up and head back to the temple." Riuku did not want to leave yet, but he had the feeling that if Evan was going to come, he would have already.

[member="Evan Kenner"], [member="Nefertari Sovint"], [member="Faratain"]

 

[Faratain]

"I am also hesitant to leave a fellow padawan behind, but that may be the best course of action".

Faratain really doesn't want to leave a fellow Jedi behind, but given the fact that he hasn't even responded to Riuku's message... it may be the only option, who knows what could have happened to the young Jedi...

[member="Riuku Morvol"] [member="Nefertari Sovint"] [member="Evan Kenner"]

 

[Nefertari Sovint]

Nefertari nodded
"Yes, that may be the best option. However, if I pinpoint Evan's location, you must know that I will go after the lad."
The Knight made preparations to leave. She'd finished part of the exterior wall, and she'd passed on some good knowledge. Not a complete waste of time, but she still wish the Chiss had shown up.

"I suppose we shall return to the temple. It pains me that we had no opportunity to sort this situation out, but it would appear that is the way it has to be."

After locking up, Nef returned to the ship the party had come in.
"Hopefully this place shall remain undisturbed for another season yet."

Nef looked refreshed, the presence of the force here always brought her vigor back.

[member="Faratain"], [member="Evan Kenner"], [member="Riuku Morvol"]​