Private Meeting a real darlin'

[Darlyn Excron]

There weren't that many things as calming as punching a robot in the face, really.... really hard. At least for Darlyn, fighting was a good way to regain his composure, calm him down, all those lovely things that made doing his job as easy and boring as possible. That said, it also helped him from, as he would put it, 'leak darkness' all over the place and make the local Jedi more nervous than usual. If keeping the peace meant occasionally coming down and beating a group of saber droids into submission, though, then he was getting a good deal out of it. Not the least of these was a chance to, occasionally, stumble into meetings by simply being present in the temple.

Well, that and getting lost... again.

Darlyn shook his head and sighed, fixing one of his suit's sleeves, and smoothing out the purple fabric. He was officially lost now, how had that happened? He'd just gotten lost in thought for a moment, he was certain of it, and yet he didn't recognize the surroundings. And there was no one around he could talk to, which meant he just kept walking, hoping to find some sort of landmark. It really was like him to just get lost for no real reason, with no one around to help fix the problem. Ah well, with luck perhaps someone would conveniently sense him and come help him out. His precious dove needed to be fed soon.

Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

The maze-like corridors of Commenor's Temple complex were nearly empty at this hour. Her fellow Jedi were either studying in the archives, practicing their lightsaber sequences in the training halls or attending mission briefings. The few who she did encounter, were either on their way from A to B or were looking for a specific Master. Sakadi herself fell in the former category.

Her stay on Kashyyyk was one longer than she had initially anticipated. Her quarters were still located on Commenor, which meant that she had to travel back now and then to grab what personal belongings she needed. The Sephi was therefore in no hurry, instead finding herself distracted by an unfamiliar presence resonating through the Temple. A single speck of darkness bathing in a sea of light. It had taken her a moment to trace the darkness back to a singular presence, but the effort was worth her time... Or so she hoped.

A few dozen steps took her around the corner, finally approaching what had been the source of all that darkness. With her lavender hands gently clasped and head cocked to the side, Sakadi reached out through the Force. "Can I help you? You seem rather lost." The projected voice had a warm tone to it, betraying none of the Sephi's caution. Alignment to the Dark side was no trifling matter; she had to gauge what kind of person she was dealing with first before she took appropriate action.

Darlyn Excron ​

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Being within the temple, Darlyn wasn't able to pick any one Light out from the others. They just sort of all, blended together, like a thick soup. Or would that be a stew? Whatever chowder counted as, thick and creamy chowder with a side of crackers. Made it really difficult to track others through the Force if they were of the norm, unlike him, so he wasn't all too caught off guard when a Jedi seemingly popped out of nowhere around a corner. He'd stopped to let them speak, without him running into him, but when their voice came it resonated in his head as opposed to from her lips, which noticeably didn't move. This, naturally, caused him a bit of distress as his mental shields flared up immediately, filling his surface thoughts with a mess of puns as he processed the woman.

She was bright in the Force, he could feel as much. And able to just casually speak to him, someone she lacked any kind of Force Bond with via telepathy like it was nothing. So, safe to bet it was either a species thing or she was a master not too unlike himself. The 'voice' she'd used was warm, but Darlyn's attention was to her stance and how she carried herself. Did she think he was a threat? He wasn't sure she did, but not knowing who they were and being so far from his usual path, he was willing to bet they were curious and had some kind of caution in how they wanted to approach him. It would only make sense, especially considering...

"Ah yes, well, I hope you don't mind if I speak aloud. Not sure how loud I'd need to think for you to hear me back that way." His mental defenses relaxed slightly, enough she would be able to speak, and hopefully enough for him to seem less 'suspicious' for the defensive flare up and more, 'really caught off guard by a new voice in my head'. "But yes I am rather lost, I was just on my way out but, I seem to have taken more than a few wrong turns. But, manners first, name's Darlyn, might I know yours?" Maybe he did know her, and just forgot. Names would help that...

Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

His reaction was to be expected. Most individuals she had met did not take kindly to her telepathic approach at first, especially if she did so without warning. It was understandable though, for she had to admit that it was rather rude.

Luckily for her, the man recovered rather quickly. The shields around his mind relaxed as he spoke, allowing her to reach out again. "Very. I try not to pry in mind's that are not my own." She responded with a glimmer of amusement visible in her lilac eyes. "But sometimes I can't help myself." His introduction caused the Sephi to look him up and down for a moment. She was familiar with the name and had heard a thing or two, assuming he was the Darlyn she had in mind. Perhaps she was wrong, but at least he looked the part.

"Oh, Darlyn? As in Darlyn Excron, President of Commenor?" It would explain both the suit and his visit to the Temple. She knew the name thanks to her brief introduction to Galactic politics, a subject she had been forced to study in order to represent the Concord in a number of instances. Most notably in her negotiations with the Hutt Clans, although that was something she wasn't too proud of.

She would give him a moment to satisfy her curiosity, before she would go on to give her own name. "I am Master Sinvala. But feel free to call me Sakadi." She was a bit more formal in her introduction, although she did not shy away from a first name basis. She knew how some of the Jedi who dwelled on Commenor preferred to be adressed as Knight or Master, but she liked to keep her interactions more personal.

Darlyn Excron ​

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Well she knew her politics, that made this a little easier. Hopefully she'd only heard the good parts of his career, though admittedly anything before his employ on Commenor during the monarchy was something he tried his best to keep on the down low.. "Well that makes it easier. Yes, that would be me. Please just, call me Darlyn though. You get tired of being 'Mr. President' about ten minutes after inauguration." Now it was his turn to wait patiently while she introduced herself, both satisfying the other's curiosity, though noticeably she was more formal in her introduction than he was. Fitting for a Master.

The introductions made, Darlyn wanted to prevent an even more awkward silence than usual to settle, since he was the only one speaking aloud to begin with. "Well Sakadi, like I mentioned I was a bit, lost. I just came to finish a bit of exercise and don't have a clue where I am now that I'm on my way out. I don't suppose you have the time to give me a bit of help in the matter? I'd like to get back to the palace before my head of security gets worried enough to come down here herself." Perhaps the idea of getting him and his, well, presence out of the temple would be appealing to her. Though, admittedly, now that he was talking to her...

He didn't want to go. He wanted to talk, ask questions, delve deeper and deeper to understand her ability to so calmly, casually use telepathy. His curiosity demanded it, despite the time constraints he might otherwise be in. And even without being probed, the mental defenses shifted from a wall of puns and concentration, into raw curiosity. Something she might even sense from how his head unconsciously tilted, and his blue eyes studied her in the most scholarly way possible.

Was it her species? He wasn't familiar with them all so...

Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

She couldn't help but smile at his casual tone and the thought of a security officer rushing to the Temple. "Is that so? Well, let's not keep her waiting then. If you would follow me?" She projected her thoughts as she gestured, hoping that he would actually do as expected and follow her. It wouldn't be the first time she encountered someone who 'would rather stay'. Although those were stubborn Younglings on Kashyyyk, and this was the president of Commenor.

"So Mr. President... You must've attained some degree of mastery over the Force if you came here to train." She used his title more teasingly than formally. It was a rare chance to actually speak with a politician without some stakes or objective in mind. What made him stand out from the type she usually dealt with, was his Force Sensitivity. There were many trained Force users outside of her respective Order, but encountering one not directly affiliated with the Jedi or Sith was quite rare these days. She didn't expect him to be part of the Nightsister cults either, which raised another question. Who or what trained him in the ways of the Force?

As much as she wanted to, this was no time to pry in his past. "But to walk from the training halls all the way to the residential quarters, that is quite a feat. Perhaps we should really place some signs around here." It was a small shift in subject, and a decent attempt at making small talk. After all, she didn't want to dig too deep in his personal life.

Darlyn Excron ​

 

[Darlyn Excron]

She seemed amicable enough, so Darlyn really had zero qualms following her. In fact, he put a bit of pep in his step so he could be more beside her than behind her, giving him a better angle to observe her. What was she? He was no expert in species, he knew many off hand including more than a few obscure ones, but hers was not one he was familiar with. The ears were not too dissimilar from the Anam, his mother's species.... but her hair and skin, everything else was just wrong. She couldn't be an offshoot either, there would be more than that one similarity if she were. He couldn't just ask her yet though, as she had other comments to make, things to mention.

"No small mastery either, I would like to think. Certainly enough that the training droids are little more than a routine exercise. Unfortunately Kahlil wasn't around to give me a real fight, now there's a man who's worth two sabers. Actually pushes me to try." Ah, he really meant it to, he couldn't hide the admiration for the one good Zambrano. It was in his voice, made it lift up happily thinking about how good a fight he always was. Something he so rarely got, not out of lack of trying or lack of opponents, but lack of good ones who weren't so far above or below him as to make victory or defeat meaningless.

The woman's comment on him getting lost however drew his attention, breaking his concentration. "Yes well, it's not as though you put 'you are here' maps out and about like it's a mall. Helpful as those would be, consider it a suggestion on my part, they and their ilk are quite absent. It hardly takes a few turns before someone unfamiliar with the whole of the temple finds themselves quite thoroughly lost, more so when they cannot ask for help and have to keep trudging on."

The small talk was, admittedly pleasant, not just in tone but even enjoyably so pleasant. Surely she felt uneasy and concerned, perhaps even angry at his presence, but she was doing an admirable job keeping calm. Or he was paranoid, again, and she genuinely felt like being decent towards him. To be quite honest, the second possibility was even scarier than the first. The idea a Jedi was able to be kind to him without reason was, just something he couldn't fathom. Kahlil was a sparring partner, Veiere had been a friend for years, and Caedyn was family. What reason did Sakadi have to be nice?

But first there was another question that finally boiled to the surface. "Forgive me for being forward but, I I can't help it... may I ask what your species is? I am not quite familiar with every sentient species in the galaxy and don't recall ever meeting someone quite like you... nor anyone with such ease of telepathic communication either... though I'm willing to suspect that's more thanks to your own talent than a species innate trait?" He had to bite back more questions, lest he overwhelm her, but his desire to simply learn could not be contained. He wanted to know.

Had to, really.

Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Her ears twitching at the mention of a familiar name. Kahlil. She knew him. He was the Knight who had accompanied her and Master Dan to Phaseera no less than a month ago. She paid great attention to what he had to say, despite her outward serenity and openness, she was still very much aware of his Dark side prowess. With her hands now clasped behind her back, she would guide the President through the building, occasionally engaging in small talk with their guest. The Temple was large, and walking all the way back to the main corridor from the residential quarters took a surprisingly long amount of time. Not 'talking' would've made for quite an awkward situation.

Although with the benefit of hindsight, she would've rather remained silent. The surprisingly straightforward question touched upon quite the sensitive subject. For a mere moment, her smile faded and her slender lavender hand clenched into a fist, before relaxing again. Her answer, however, came with the same warm and undisturbed tone it had done until now. "Sephi. As pure-blooded as they come." She raised her hand, gently stroking her ear for a moment. "The Lorekeepers say that every pointy-eared species is in someway related to the Sephi. But we're a rare sight nowadays..." It was partly her fault. She had been there on the day of the invasion. Guided by the Force and ready to ward off the darkness. But upon being confronted, the Jedi Master had found herself unable to raise her blade. Her people knew nothing but suffering now. And that, that was on her.

"But you guessed correctly. My species has no innate telepathy-enhancing traits. That's all me." The subtle shift of the subject made the Sephi appear a bit more lively again. "I'm quite awesome, aren't I?" Her projected words were accompanied by a broad grin as she met his gaze.

"And what about you? I'm guessing... human. Am I correct?" Human was always a solid bet, especially when it was as painfully obvious as this. Nevertheless, she felt like it was an appropriate and light-hearted counter question.

Darlyn Excron ​

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Sephi..." Darlyn lifted a hand to his chin, and ran his forefinger and thumb down the bottom of his jaw, thinking on it. That word did sound familiar, though he couldn't place it. Something odd, since he usually was pretty good at placing things he actually knew in place. Perhaps it was just a common enough sequence of sounds he couldn't pin it down then, that had to be it. So distracted in thought was he, over the lack of his memory, that he didn't notice how Sakadi reacted to the question when she answered, instead only being brought back to reality by her broad grin over her 'awesome' traits. Which, of course, only made him respond in kind.

"Yes, you are quite aesome, actually. I was never one for such mental abilities, it took me years upon years to manage even a simple mind trick, or halfway decent mental protection. To be so capable as you is well worth praising." It was a nice moment of levity, this conversation. It was pleasant to feel welcome, for once.

Though the feeling faded a bit, when she asked about his species in turn. He didn't have any particular problem with the question of course, it was fair, and honestly expected. Yet somehow he had hoped she would've guessed something different from human, from his dad. Vain of course, he lacked Anam ears or height to warrant that even being asked... "Well, yes and no. Half human, on my... father's side. My Mother is not human, however clearly she's near human enough." He tried to hide the venom in the word father, but he wasn't aware even trying to do so was simply making it worse. In fact, it was so much worse that he noticeably caused the air around him to slightly chill.

He clenched the hand that had curiously stroked his chin into a fist for a moment, letting the joints faintly crack, counting in the back of his mind backwards to help him calm as he continued. "They're a bit of an isolationist species, they haven't really dealt much with politics. I didn't inherit many of their traits, besides my hair. I'm not tall, and I don't have ears more similar to yours, so I don't look any different to a full blooded human. It was a good guess though!" Slowly his focus drifted from his father to the moment, back in the present, with the kind master willing to exchange pleasantries with him.

Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

She was lucky. Darlyn hadn't noticed her brief shift in mood. The fall of Thustra was not a subject she liked to talk about. The memories were nothing short of bothersome, as was the guilt that came with.

Sakadi made a slight bow as he went along with her boasting. It had been a long while since she had made jokes like this. Her life was hectic and required a most serious mind, one she truthfully admitted not to have. At least not in the weekends. It reminded her a bit of her first apprentice. Ever since his first days as inexperienced teen under her tutelage, did he heartily quip about whatever challenges awaited them. It was no exaggeration to say that she missed him.

Her current Padawan, Mi'la, differed greatly from any whom she had trained before. The girl rushed in without thinking. Without training. Nevertheless, the girl had proven herself time and time again. Her resilience was unmatched, and so was her fighting spirit. If the girl could survive a Sith prison, surely she could survive training under the Sephi... Right?

The Jedi Master snapped out of her thoughts when the response to her question came. An answer with a far colder tone than she had expected, with a rather spiteful emphasis on father. It was perceptible through the Force as well, seeing as she could sense it.

The ripple that moved through the Force made it tempting to probe the man's mind. Had she been a lesser person, she would've done so without second thought. But the Sephi considered such actions unbefitting of a Jedi. She would rather ask Commenor's President directly.

"You didn't quite get along with your father, did you?"

Darlyn Excron ​

 

[Darlyn Excron]

She wanted to know did she? Her question was short, simple, and they both already knew the answer. They also both knew she wasn't just asking what was said, or at least he assumed she was asking for more than that. More than a yes. He figured she wanted to know details, the why and the how. Well, he'd never bothered to hide his hatred of the old man, why should he start hiding it now? Just, had to be careful of the parts that did matter. "No, no that's not the case. Apparently he used to be a pretty decent father, but good things like that tend to change. Past problems come back no matter how hard you try to run from them. Stuff like that."

Little flecks of frost formed on his hands as he continued to speak, his words lacking in any familial warmth as he recalled what little he remembered. "The man had been a smuggler and botched a job, or something to that effect, and thought he could hide away from it on Arkania with his wife. Like that wouldn't come to bite him in the rear, sitting in one place for an extended time while being actively hunted. I guess to his credit it worked for at least six years, before he had to run again without warning or checking to make sure he wasn't forgetting anyone."

Six years old. Who forgets that?

"Hope that satisfies your curiosity, because that's all I really remember. Everything bad that happened after that is his fault anyways which should do perfectly fine explaining why we aren't on good terms, to say the very least."

Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

The Jedi Master stared at the ground as she listened. Her mind still wished to drift off to the subject of Thustra now that it had been mentioned. Apart from the guilt, she couldn't help but wonder how her people were doing. Were they still fighting against their new Empress, and the rising Sephi Dominate? Or had they surrendered completely to the new regime. Only time would tell.

"So he abandoned you?" Her question was slightly rhetoric. The father had abandoned his son, that much she could tell from the family feud he described. "It could have been worse." She continued with a shrug. "When my parents saw my... talent, they chose to exploit my gifts and turned my name into a brand." She wasn't open about her past. Apart from maybe a handful of people, no one knew a thing about her. "And well, when I lost my voice... she gestured at her throat, knowing fully well that there were no scars of her surgeries left. "They chose to discard me." She purposely left out the part about Maya. Acknowledging that her sister had suffered too was still a bit too fresh to mention.

"The Force works in strange ways, doesn't it?" The memories were unpleasant, but sometimes sharing that which bothered you could make a real difference.

Darlyn Excron ​

 

[Darlyn Excron]

Darlyn listened calmly, trying very... very hard to remain composed. Talking about the past wasn't something he really ever did, for good reason. He prided himself on being able to embrace his emotions and passions without letting them take over his ability to rationalize and think.

The more he thought of his Dad, and everything that came from his actions that day, the harder it became to hold his composure. And that intense hatred would be showing itself more and more, until he responded to Sakadi's comments in turn. "No I don't think it really could've been worse. I don't remember much of him but i remember more of what came later. I tried to do what i could to survive and ended up being takrn and used by a Sith for who the feth knows what purpose. He didn't even properly train me, I had to teach myself to survive living under him. Look what came of that."

He pulled the collar of his shirt away from the side of his throat to let her see a scar, one that had clearly refused to fade with time. A jagged scar right up his neck. Clearly a shrapnel would if she was aware what those looked like. "Nearly dying for nothing, and a life time of memories remembering how weak and helpless i was to save myself from what came next."

Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

"We have a lot in common then" The Jedi Master's response was calm, despite knowing the gravity of their conversation. If this was a 'who had the worst' past contest, she wouldn't be considered a pushover either. She had been abandoned, unable to speak and unknowing of anything beyond her estate's gate. She still carried the scars herself, remembered what being emaciated felt like, and not being able to refuse anyone's requests. Those were an ugly few years of her life and sadly not the end of her misfortune.

But would she let that weigh her down? No. Events that happened well over five decades ago were not worth her time. She had chosen her path, dedicating herself fully to the Jedi Order. That was all that mattered to her. The Jedi Code and the Force. Perhaps that was why she had such a difficult time accepting her sister's decisions. To think that someone of her family could have such an opposing view...

Sakadi studied his scar for a moment. Hers after the surgery had not been that different. "I know of a professional facility on Obroa-skai if you'd like to have that removed. Their medical knowledge and expertise knows no bounds."

Darlyn Excron ​

 

[Darlyn Excron]

"Maybe we do, maybe we don't. I won't pretend my lot was worse than yours or that you're the one who really suffered or any of that nonsense. All my point really is, is that I really would've had to try to have it go worse than it did. Maybe staying and waiting for my Master to execute me for failing, maybe that could've been worse. Or maybe it would've been a blessing in disguise, who knows. Can't very well go back and check it can I?" His voice was getting heated, filled with anger and fear and hate, energy that was well and beyond what he'd had at the start of this walk and talk. Breathe, breathe. He had to take a second to breathe, focus on the air entering and leaving his lungs. Slow his heartrate, calm himself down. He needed to focus, and breathe. Slowly, slowly, he managed to calm everything down, re-centering himself.

When he started speaking again, his voice was calmer, much more like how he'd started with Sakadi. Lacking in any real warmth to the tone of voice, it was still at least... normal. "The physical scar never mattered, you know? Besides, I've gotten used to how I look in the mirror. It would start making it hard to recognize myself." He let go of the collar of his shirt, and like that the scar was no longer visible.

With everything calming down now, he was able to try and close up again. He was being too forward with her wasn't he? Too quick to offer up a heated recounting of everything to her at just some light prodding. Perhaps he needed a vacation after all...

"Apologies, Sakadi. I'm not quite sure what got into me there."

Sakadi Marathi Sinvala

 

[Sakadi Marathi Sinvala]

Sakadi would cast yet another sideways glance at the man beside her. It was clear that this was a deep-seated anger. The kind of anger she knew Maya had. The kind of anger the misguided girl had directed at her. Finding an uncomfortable amount of parallels, the Jedi Master would avert her gaze again. With her fingers laced loosely behind her back, she led him closer and closer to the Temple's main hall and exit.

"Don't apologize. It's not necessary." She understood how he felt. But she couldn't let it consume her, nor let it guide her. "Although I think you're wrong. If something were to scar my face, I would be beyond upset" She added with a playful grin. "It would be really bad for my complexion" She continued, trying to mimic worry in her voice as best as she could.

Darlyn Excron ​