Private Pick Ahto

[Mathieu Brion]

P I C K . A H T O

Mission: Capture Selkath Terrorist Memtne
Tag: Cadere
Location: Manaan, Ahto City, Research supply warehouse with a submarine drop-off hangar

They were soon there. The hangar was supposed to be behind the door at the other end of the room, but first, he needed to dodge. A sonic blaster bolt swooshed past him, fired by one of the Selkath at the other end of the room by the door they were trying to reach. Mathieu thanked his lucky stars as he just narrowly managed to avoid being shot again. And lucky was just the beginning as his dodge also ensured that he avoided the vibroblade that was swung towards his throat. Seeing his opening, the large Morellian shot off with his legs, and threw himself onto the melee oriented Selkath next to him. It resulted in the alien's air being knocked out as well as him dropping both weapons.

With a series of quick but powerful moves and shoves, Mathieu soon stood behind the foe, using him as a deterrent for the other terrorists. If they wanted to harm Mathieu, they would need to shoot their friends. It was an amusing situation - the Jedi Padawan had long wished for a lightsabre, but now, the weapon was not all that useful anyways, seeing as it couldn't deflect most of the sonic shots. With a smirk, he looked over to Cas - his captive was struggling to get free - but to Mathieu, holding him still wasn't much of a problem "Want to share cover with me?" he hollered before flashing a smile to his friend.

Whether Cas opted to follow Mathieu, make use of the many stacked crates or find another way to the range of opponents at the end of the room didn't matter much to the former Mercenary. He still pushed on and he felt lucky too - the terrorists may have done some horrible things - but they still seemed to care enough about their friend to not just shoot him in order to get to

Mathieu. Suddenly, someone jumped at him, just as he passed by a corner. It was a sneaky Mon Calamari who had armed herself with a shock baton. Mathieu reacted quickly however and managed to jam his captive in between them, causing him to take the hit instead. Quickly countering, he squeezed down extra hard on the captive with his one hand whilst the other shot out in a punch. He had plenty of force behind the hit and the spot he managed to hit happened to also be a nerve centre. Needless to say, the woman was knocked out cold just moments after impact. Mathieu pushed on, but quickly noticed that the Selkath he was holding had been knocked unconscious by the shock baton and perhaps a bit of his squeezing too. It was awkward, seeing as it left the other terrorists with little motivation to not shoot. He seriously hoped that Cas would be there to save the day now.

 

[Cadere]

It was still fresh on his mind. Still raw, and eating away at him. Cas was reeling, badly, from his failure on Dorin - how he couldn't save his Jedi brethren and the soldiers, how they were all slaughtered by that... that monster, and how, because of that, the young Jedi Knight almost fell to the Dark side to avenge them.

Cas was so deep in thought, replaying the events in his head over and over again that he was running on autopilot throughout this mission. No quips, no flashy manoeuvres, just speed and efficiency. He was only brought back to reality when he heard Mathieu's voice call out to him, which also helped Cas avoid a stray sonic blast with a jerk of his head. The Jedi glanced at his Padawan friend, noticing his smile, but elected to ignore it - it was hard for Cas to resist banter but, after everything now wasn't the time for him.

With Mathieu holding one of the Selkath hostage, the others were hesitant to shoot which gave Cas the perfect opportunity to rush them. Blitzing passed the Morellian and hopping over the creates in front of them, performing a large Force-enhanced leap upon reaching the final stacked crate. Cas channelled the Force into his body, light swirling around him... although, now he felt a shade of darkness as well.

Landing on his feet, Cas dodged and evaded any sonic shots that came near him with flips and acrobatic manoeuvres. Nearing the group of Selkath, a sonic bolt grazed the Knight's shoulder and he grunted in pain. He wasn't concentrating enough. Regardless, the pain from the shot angered him and his nostrils flared. As instincts took over, the Jedi Knight threw his arms forward and unleashed a powerful Force push, laced in a hint of the Dark side. If Mathieu was more proficient with his Force-sensitivity, he'd sense it.

Cas took a few moments to centre himself and reign his emotions in. His flare ups were becoming more frequent and it was beginning to worry him, he had always walked close to the Dark side and resisted its urges, but now he'd opened the flood gates. Before the Selkath could get back up, with a flick of his right arm Cas levitated their sonic blasters and rifles into the air before flinging them back passed and behind him. They would land near Mathieu as the Jedi Knight turned his head slightly in Mat's direction "Figure out what to do with those." he said coldly, gripping his lightsaber tight and sprinting off toward the next door.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

One of the areas Mathieu had specialised in - in large parts thanks to his time with the Soller Navah, was force sense. And while it was not obvious and enveloped in light, he was starting to feel a creeping sense of darkness. The battle was still going at full though. Luckily for him, Cassie took the remaining guards out with a powerful series of force attacks, first pushing them down and the robbing them of their weapons. It was an impressive display and Mathieu knew that he still had much to learn.

Although he was surprised by how the Knight left the still very much potent foes alive for him to deal with, his concerns about the looming dark side presence was still at large. His friend had been less responsive than he normally was but still, Mathieu tried to send him a little jab "If I'm the brains and the muscle, what does that make you? The beautiful assistant?" He never remained idle whilst talking but was rushing towards the three foes which were now disarmed but recovering.

Bringing out his stun baton, Mathieu managed to smack one of them across their chest, causing them to quickly fall unconscious. The second one was throwing a punch against him but fortunately, the Padawan managed to catch his arm before it could connect with his face. While he was holding on to the alien, the third terrorist threw a jab at the side of his abdomen. With his Ashla's wristguard and a strong physique, Mathieu didn't feel any pain from the attack and simply continued by stabbing the one he held with the stun baton, giving the third foe a chance to hit him again in the same spot. The Selkath realised that his attacks were rather futile and instead started backing away. Calmly, Mathieu walked after the Selkath until he bumped his back into a wall. The terrorist raised his armed "I surrender" The former Mercenary smiled "Good" before gently brushing his stun baton against the foe's neck to stun him quickly and painlessly.

He quickly turned to see where Cassie had gone but with the Knight sprinting away, it was no wonder that he could no longer be seen. And with that, Mathieu reached out with the force to get a sense of where his friend's force signature were and at the same time - albeit by accident - getting a sense of how much more dim the light in him seemed to be. Still, he knew which direction to run in and immediately started to catch up.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

The Jedi Knight ignored Mathieu's attempts at banter as he pushed forward to the final door, not even gracing the Padawan with a look-back. Reaching the door to the hangar, Cas carved his way through the entrance swiftly with his lightsaber leaving an opening of his size through it. Stepping through the door, he was greeted by a blaster bolt that had narrowly missed him, colliding with part of the hangar door next to him.

Now the only thing standing between him and the target were a small group of security droids. Cas glanced toward the Selkath who scrambled over to the submarine and attempted to bypass the security droids, however they already began firing. Luckily for him, these bolts were deflectable which Cas did at a tremendous speed while simultaneously closing the gap between him and the droids.

Redirecting some of the blaster bolts into a couple of the droid's main processors, it left the Jedi Knight with three more to handle. He needed to be faster, he was running out of time. Sprinting toward the droids now, Cas finally was close enough to engage them head-on. With a twirl of his lightsaber, he sliced through a droid bisecting it as he did so. In a blink of an eye, he flicked his lightsaber to his right hand and with his cybernetic arm free, he used its metallic hand to slam the palm of his hand into the droid's face and used the enhanced strength stored in the arm to slam the droid into the ground with a forceful push.

The final droid was dealt with as easy as the rest with Cas waving his free arm and swatting it away with a light telekinetic push. Performing a large Force-enhanced leap, Cas landed directly on the submarine's bonnet. Staring down with a cold glare at the Selkath, he saw that he was struggling to figure out how to pilot the submersible, let alone activate it. Finally, the Selkath looked back up at the Jedi Knight and upon realising he wasn't going to escape how he originally wanted to, he pulled out a repeating blaster rifle from under his seat.

As he open fired, Cas performed a quick backflip and avoided the blaster fire that shattered the submarine's glass canopy. Landing a few feet away, he watched as the Selkath got out of the submarine and was ready to engage.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Maybe following Cassie wouldn't be quite as hard as he first anticipated. While the Knight had a considerable head start, figuring out where he had gone was relatively easy. For there was only one real direction to go in and there were some clear indicators of where he had gone specifically. The most obvious one being the uncomfortably small hole in the doors.

Mathieu's pace slowed to a halt when he encountered the locked but utterly broken door. Looking at it for a while, he shook his head - the Knight was a fair bit shorter than him and at 155 lbs, quite a bit smaller too. The thought of trying to squeeze through was quickly dismissed and he did not have a lightsabre with which he could expand the hole a little. Instead, he swept his one hand over the other wrist, seamlessly activating a strength enhancing stim whilst also starting to draw upon the force. Using it to enhance his already impressive strength, Mathieu soon took a short step back before kicking at it. The metal frame quickly gave way - especially since a large part of the support structure in the middle was already broken. And through a pained metallic groan, it also tore loose from its frame, damaging part of the surrounding wall too.

Quickly, he started to move on, into the hangar, just to see his friend deal with the last security droid. He was still moving when the Terrorist leader and Cassie's interactions turned violent. The former Mercenary picked up his pace and by the time the Selkath was out of the submarine, Mathieu rounded the corner. Their foe managed to fire a shot at the Knight before the Padawan got to him. Throwing himself at the alien in a tackling move, Mathieu did his best to dampen his own fall, knowing that the criminal would probably be exposed to unnecessary pain if he had landed on top of the guy straight out - and this was in the class of broken bones and fractured ribs.

Once the leader was on the ground, Mathieu quickly disarmed him and threw a heavy punch at his face, knocking the man out quickly. The former Mercenary was getting back up on his feet and almost casually brought the unconscious terrorist up with him, as he held on to the Selkath's shirt. "You were pushing on pretty quickly there, Cassie. Are you alright?" he asked - curious about more things than just his friend's physical well-being.

Two things needed to be done now. The local authorities needed to be notified that the threat was cleared and they needed to wait for the local authorities to pick the criminals up. Mathieu started to walk towards the previous room with the terrorist leader in tow, hoping that his friend would call the local authorities. If so, he would remain quiet - if not, he would call them himself.

When they had gathered the unconscious terrorist leader together with the equally unconscious terrorists from before at the same spot, Mathieu waved the other Jedi over to a table set on the other side of the room. From there, they'd be able to keep watch whilst also retaining a degree of privacy. At first, the large Morellian sat in silence. His thoughts were on what had just happened. Cassie was usually one to kind of balance on the edge of what could truly bee seen as safely light sided. But he had always been firmly in the lightsided camp. This time, it felt different. But Mathieu was opening it all carefully "You went pretty hard on them today, huh?"

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Not long after avoiding the Terrorist leader's assault, Cas stretched his right arm out and suspended the Selkath with the Force constricting him in an awkward position. Long enough for Mathieu to tackle him, following his disarming by the Padawan Cas quickly summoned the weapon into his hand with a quick pull of the Force. Dismantling it with the Force as soon as it reached his grip.

It didn't take long for his friend to detain him. The question that followed was something he dreaded hearing - "I'm fine." Cas said bluntly, averting his gaze and scowling slightly... he knew that Mat would know it was an obvious lie. Cas moved onto raise his wrist comm near his mouth as he spoke into it to notify the Selkath's local authorities "Captain Laalth, we've detained Shak Los and his cell." what followed was Captain Laalth telling the Jedi that a squad would be there within half an hour. Now all they needed to do was wait.

Following Mathieu out of the hangar and to a table set. Sitting opposite of him, Cas buried his head in his hands and let out a deep sigh, rubbing his face before running his hands through his dreads and finally facing Mathieu. The question the Morellian posed irked the Knight slightly, not through Mat's fault but through Cas' own. He'd been careless today and now Mathieu was onto him.

Deflecting, Cas glanced away again turning his gaze onto the unconscious terrorists "We had to stop Shak Los from releasing that chemical agent into Ahto's water supply. They had to be stopped." he deflected, trying to hold out for as long as possible and even though his words remained true... he knew he was just delaying the inevitable. But he just wasn't ready, not ready to relive the events on Dorin... especially when it was so fresh in his mind, and with all the lives lost still very much impacting the Silver Jedi Concord.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

The tension in the room seemed to grow thick. Not quite enough to be cut by a knife - but it was palpable. And this was not tension between the two Jedi and the group of terrorists on the other side of the room. Their fiends all laid unconscious. The tension was between the Knight and the Padawan. But Mathieu was not aggressive and Cassie seemed to be nothing but curt, or perhaps a little defensive.

Mathieu looked at his friend for a bit, trying to determine the truth of what he was saying. "Cassie" he said expectantly, waiting for the Kiffar to respond for a few moments. After the brief break, he continued "That's not it. Something's off." A few more moments of silence from the Jedi Padawan ensued until he started recounting some of the things which were off "You were way too quiet. You used the force - not with elegance and precision, but with power and..." He trailed off.

The word sat right on his tongue. But the mere thought of what he was about to say made him shiver. He had seen so many people he liked and respected fall from the light. Okkeus and Caden were no longer part of the order. Instead of saying the word, saying "darkness", Mathieu let his mouth close.

Finding words was a struggle. The former Mercenary reached out with a hand and put it on his friend's shoulder and let its heavy weight bear down on the Knight. "What's up?" he asked with genuine care and compassion in his voice.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Yep. There it was. They both knew Cas was hiding something and there was no point in hiding it. Another reason for the Kiffar's resistance to indulge Mathieu was that he was also ashamed of the events on Dorin, while Cas saw Mathieu as a good and trustworthy friend, he also saw the Morellian as a paragon of good - probably a high pedestal, but nonetheless Mat was a very good person. Because of this, Cas feared that the Padawan's view of him would change, maybe even drastically.

The Knight exhaled deeply, bowing his head down slightly. Tapping his metallic fingers on the table, creating an uncomfortable clanking sound, he struggled to find the words. Biting his lip tightly, Cas averted his gaze from Mat's broad frame and his breathing grew slightly rapid, his gloved fingers eventually formed into a fist as he found his nerves again.

Cas took another deep breath, and as he exhaled once more tears began to stream down his face "I messed up, Mat... I messed up so bad..." Cas revealed calmly despite the long stream of tears falling. Although he was distraught, he remained composed "I failed them... I promised them and I failed them..." Cas continued, his head fell, hanging over but his posture remained straight and upright.

The guilt hit him harder now, saying the words out loud and revealing it to another just made everything more real.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Mathieu had tried to bring back a fallen Jedi Knight in the past. He failed. It was something he had yet to process properly, despite it having been so long since it happened. In truth, the Padawan was no expert in force alignment nor was he even close to being as wise as so many of the Masters were. All he could do was to give it his all - because he really didn't want to see his friend fall.

His hand slowly fell from Cassie's shoulder and down onto his upper back for a soft rub - just to show the guy that he was there with him. The Kiffar had tears streaming down his face - they told a story of remorse and his voice carried the same sentiment. "Maybe" he said - it was impossible to know what Cassie had done and it was possible that he truly had messed up, but that was beyond the point "We all do. Messing up is how we learn." Flashbacks of how much self-blame Okkeus had carried when they met flashed by in his mind - it had had such a corrupting influence that the Padawan cringed just upon thinking of it. "When we stumble, when we fall, we might lie in pain for a while." a brief pause ensued before he continued "But then we pick ourselves up. And try to do better next time."

He flashed his friend a soft smile and listened as he spoke of how he failed. Once again, the Morellian had a hard time knowing what the failure had been. Still, he shook his head before staying it to lean forward a little "We all fail sometimes too. But sometimes, we haven't failed - we're just being hard on ourselves. Tell me. What happened?"

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Mathieu's words were honeyed but felt false. What happened on that Force-forsaken planet was more than a mere learning experience, more than a damn stumble. As the Padawan continued to speak, it became worse and worse for him before Cas would eventually shrug off the Morellian's hand on his back. He didn't say anything for a few moments and his head remained lowered "I wish it was a simple learning experience."

Finally wiping the tears from his face, Cas lifted his head up slowly, staring off into nothingness as if he was right there in that moment again. "Remember when I took a squad of Jedi Knights to Dorin, and I was the only one that came back with only a Sith Holocron to show for it?" he asked, whatever Mathieu answered Cas would continue "There was a Sith Lord there, with his own little army and everything. He... he wiped us out like we were nothing, children with lightsabers, not to mention the men and women we were there to protect. Innocent soldiers just doing their job... and he..." Cas choked at the memory. Remembering how Insatious absorbed the life force out of his fellow Jedi, remembering their faces as they turned into soulless husks... the fear and the pain he felt radiate off of them before... nothing.

Running his hands through his hair again, Cas shut his eyes tight as if he was attempting to purge the image from his mind. He felt a lump in his throat and his eyes begin to gloss, but he forced it back in order to keep his composure although his emotions were fighting so hard to be released. "... I promised them, Mat. I swore to them I'd get them outta there alive... all those good men and women, soldiers, Jedi died... died for that KARKING SITH HOLOCRON!" he yelled out, slamming the table hard with his cybernetic fist and creating a harsh crack through the middle of it with the Force.

"They died for me..." Cas muttered softly as he pinched the bridge of his nose "And that isn't the worst part." he confessed.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

The sad expression from having his hand shrugged off was almost immediately replaced by one of understanding as he withdrew his hand. He clasped his both hands together in front of him, almost as if for the one to console the other. And from that position, Mathieu listened to his friend, letting out a short "Yeah" upon being asked if he remembered the occasion.

With patience and silence, Mathieu kept listening. It was clear that the sorrow and self blame were both pushing off everything else from the Kiffar's emotional spectrum. The Padawan had disagreed almost throughout the entire monologue. It wasn't Cassies fault - he was not the one who should be taking the blame. In his mind, it was a clear case, but when the Knight mentioned that it wasn't the worst part, Mathieu slowly started to put the pieces of the puzzle together. "You must have tapped into the dark then, just like you did now" he thought. The table slam was barely a factor - being used to being in warzones and battles, a clearly telegraphed noise did little to startle him.

"Come here" he said, opening his arm up - the large Morellian wouldn't be giving his friend much of a choice as the arm soon fell down around him in a hug - this was not the same kind as before where his arm went over Cassie's neck, however. This time, it went by his upper back and ended with a frim grasp on his shoulder. Mathieu then leaned forth and bent down, trying to catch his friend's gaze "Look at me. Cas. Look at me." he said, using the Knights name instead of the nickname.

Once contact was established, he spoke clearly "It wasn't your fault. Listen. Everyone knew the dangers of the mission - they knew it as much as you did. And they did it anyways. They didn't die for you. They died for something they believed in. You are not the one who killed them, it was the Sith. It was the Sith who killed them. If you give up, they'll have claimed you too. Do not let that happen."

A pause ensued. Mathieu's determined voice had been compensated by the softness and empathy in his eyes. He kept looking at the Knight under his arm until he spoke again - but this time, it was much softer, and marked by remorse "You know, even when I just started out as a Mercenary, I knew what I was getting into. It didn't matter that I was young or naïve. I knew what I was doing, Cassie - what risks I was taking, what actions I was... I- I did so many bad things." The Padawan paused for a moment, to recompose himself. There was a clear difference between himself and Cassie - despite trying to steer clear of it, Mathieu had done bad things for credits. The Knight, on the other hand, had worked for what was good and right all along. It was unknown to him if he would ever be able to fully atone for his past sins, but it was something which he worked on doing without pause. And at this moment, that meant trying to speak some sense into his friend.

"But I also learned that you never blame your own guys. Never. If you get hurt or if you loose a friend, it is never the fault of your brother or sister - they did their best. You, did you best."

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas' thumb and index finger remained on the bridge of his nose as Mat pulled him in for a comforting hug. It was nice and both appreciated and welcomed, but he still felt terrible. He glanced upward at Mat when he ordered him to look at him, although Cas' head remained lowered. Listening to what Mathieu had to say, logically what he was saying was sound and he did agree with it, but Cas' heart was telling him another story - his heart felt immense guilt and responsibility for the lives lost.

Then his friend relented on his own experiences, his own regrets and what he had learned from then. In that brief moment, Cas felt his heart grow lighter - him and Mat were very similar and that's why they were good friends, knowing that his friend could empathise with him made him feel slightly better. A small and weak smile grew on his lips, he glanced at Mathieu again. His words indeed helped and he did ponder on them, the Kiffar opened his mouth to give thanks but quickly closed it as he retreated into himself once again.

So much so, he even backed away from Mat's hug subconsciously, as if he had been startled by something. Cas remembered it all over again, how he tapped into it. The Dark side. Now slightly more level-headed, Cas had garnered the confidence to reveal more to Mat - "I tried to kill him. The Sith Lord." he confessed bluntly, glancing away from Mathieu. "In those moments, I felt anger and hatred... and I... I fed on those emotions. I'd never felt so... so powerful, so focused. Mat... what scares me the most is..." the confused Jedi took a moment to pause as he finally met Mathieu's blue eyes "... I revelled in it..."

Glancing away again, he felt horrible - now that he had said it out loud, now that he had come to terms with it he was terrified. Terrified that now he'd gotten a taste of the Dark side, that he'd opened himself up to it... how easy would it be for him to fall under its allure again and again and again until there was no coming back from it.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

It seemed to be working for a while. But then, Cassie tried to move away from him again. This time, however, his arm laid heavily on the Knight's back, making moving away considerably much harder unless he outright stood up. Naturally, Mathieu had no interests in keeping him there, and so, he let his friend go. With some distance between them, he then listened at the continuation of the story.

This kind of corruption did not seem like the same kind that had plagued Okkeus. The younger Knight whom he had confronted before seemed to use the dark side as a justification for his actions - but Cassie did not. Instead, he seemed to be drawn to it by its power. And that was a frightening idea - that he was naturally drawn to it instead of using it as an excuse or a justification. Mathieu didn't hide what he felt - he wouldn't do it to his friend. His face told a clear story of concern but there was no hostility or disgust in it.

The large Morellian moved in his seat with his upper body leaning back against the backrest while he crossed his right leg over the left one. With a heavy sigh, he spoke "I'm sorry to hear you had to go through that, Cassie." His voice was sympathetic, just as his eyes. He really did pity his friend who seemed to have gone through a rather horrible experience. After staying silent for a bit, he finally spoke with a strong voice "We must always strive to uphold the light. You know how corrupting the dark side can be. How it can twist a persons morality to something truly wicked and evil." It may not have been pleasant to hear - what the 'needed' to do. But there was no point in lying or trying to hide the truth, especially since Cassie already knew of it.

"But it wasn't your fault. You were pushed beyond what anyone could be expected to withstand. I know you, Cassie. You wouldn't just embrace it like that without cause."

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Mathieu expressed sympathy for Cas' situation, while it wasn't exactly helpful the Kiffar couldn't fault him for it. What possibly could he have said to comfort Cas? Or simply, what could Mat even say to this revelation as a whole? Regardless, the Jedi Knight still appreciated the Morellian's attempts. "I know, I know." he responded regarding upholding the light, Mat was right - of course he was.

"I'm a Jedi Knight, Mat. I'm supposed to be better than this, I need to be more in control of my emotions and myself..." he argued, still finding blame in himself. With a sigh, he averted his gaze again "Can you... not mention this to anyone? I'm going to be lectured about everything I already know if higher members find out." Cas stated, rubbing at his chin and further regaining his composure.

Everything Mathieu told him, Cas subconsciously knew - but it took the Padawan's words to actually remind him and to allow him to ponder on them, it was extremely helpful to hear from an outside source due to the fact when Cas tried to rationalise his guilt for himself, his brain automatically would 'correct' it as making excuses for his failure.

He sighed again, finally meeting Mat's gaze "Hey, Mat... uh, thanks for..." Cas would pause, struggling to find the words but cleared his throat and through it, seemingly regained his confidence to speak "Thanks for calling me out on this, it was... it lightened the load to speak out about it." Cas said with a genuine tone and genuine smile, his smile then fell slightly as he continued to speak "Though I don't think I can move passed it... not yet, nor can I forgive myself fully but you've given me a lot to think about, thanks for that too."

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Indeed, he was a Jedi Knight. Mathieu nodded "But you're also human, Cassie. They give us standards to live by, and we should. But everyone struggles from time to time." The words were fired off shortly before Cas seemed to move on, averting his gaze and asking the Padawan to keep what had happened to himself. "I trust you. Of course I'll keep quiet."

The former Mercenary remained seated as his friend paused. For a moment, he felt like they had all the time in the world, as long as they could get through the struggles with the dark side without being harmed or corrupted. But perhaps they were done - at least that's how the Knight made it sound. The timing was good too as faint boots could be heard in the distance. It had to be their reinforcements who had come to arrest their captives and the terrorist leader.

Flashing a friendly smile, Mathieu let out a short "Anytime" before standing up and offering Cassie a hand to help him get up too. He threw a glance to the hallway where their reinforcements were arriving from. They were still far away and so, the large Morellian put a hand on his friend's shoulder and looked down on him. He was silent for a few brief moments with his mouth agape, thinking of what to say before letting out a short "You know this, but" and then continued sincerely "Even if the dark side gives you the power to protect those you love for the moment, it will corrupt you until eventually, you won't be able to protect them from yourself."

He removed his heavy hand from Cassie's shoulder and leaned back. "Can you brief these guys? I've got something I need to do. Meet me at my ship when you're done, OK?" he said and gave the Knight a clap on the back before jogging away.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

Cas felt immense relief when Mat agreed to not tell anyone about his mistake, letting out a deep sigh he nodded with a feeling of gratitude toward the Morellian. The timing couldn't have been more convenient, with their conversation more or less resolved and Cas feeling slightly better from all this, the Ahto law enforcement arrived to apprehend the terrorists and their leader.

Accepting Mat's hand, Cas stood up with him before turning his attention to the newly arrived law enforcement officers. Feeling the Padawan's heavy hand place on his shoulder, Cas turned his attention upward to Mat and listened as he was given one last piece of advice - again, he was right but... it was easier said than done. "I know, Mat." he responded softly. Mat then asked for him to brief the officers on the events that transpired while he returned to the ship "Yeah, I got it." the Kiffar confirmed with a nod.

Temporarily parting ways, Cas made his way over to Captain Laalth and briefed her on everything which took about fifteen minutes. Accompanying the officers back to their precinct with the terrorists in tow, Cas gave further details before signing some things and going on his way. The Jedi Knight slowly paced his way to the hangar where Mat's ship was, pondering further on the Morellian's advice and support as well as trying to be less harsh on himself, although that was a mission in itself.

Finally arriving, Cas walked on the already lowered boarding ramp and entered inside the ship. Coming to a halt now, Cas glanced around his immediate area before rubbing the back of his neck with his leather glove "Mat, you there?" he called out.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

"Sure am!" he hollered from inside the ship. The ramp stood open and from the outside, it would be clear that Mathieu was already deep within it. The large Morellian's voice could soon be heard again "Come on in! I'm at the cargo hold"

Once the Knight got inside and had made his way to the cargo hold, he would find Mathieu standing by a high stand-desk by the far-side wall. His wide back no longer carried the Jedi robes he had worn earlier - instead, he just had a white T-shirt in its place. Peering over his shoulder, Mathieu waved his friend closer "Come on" he said with a friendly tone and matching smile. As the Kiffar got closer, Mathieu reached for a button, lowering the desk to that of a normal one. As he did, a cybernetic arm would slowly appear as his back narrowed further down.

Standing aside, he pointed to the cybernetic with his own arm. His face carried a bright smile as he let out a happy "Surprise!"

Mathieu stood aside to let his friend have a look before he started speaking "Allow me to present to you, the FF-CAR1." he paused before dropping a sidenote "It's 'for a friend' and it's a 'cybernetic arm replacement'. Just don't you go ahead and give me a reason to make a FF-CAR2 for that other one." It was obvious at this point, but just to be clear, a final few words were added "It's for you"

Bending down enough to see it horizontally, Mathieu spoke once more "It is a little bit faster than your average cybernetic arm and while the entire thing doesn't pack as much of a punch as the more beefy versions out there, the hand has a crushgaunt functionality" he said, clearly sounding rather excited about it all. Looking up at Cassie from his lower position, angling his head awkwardly in the process, he asked "Wanna try it on? I can help if you want"

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

At the sound of Mathieu's deep voice, the Kiffar's ears perked and he headed toward the cargo hold. He knew the Morellian was a positive person but even he sounded a bit too excited in the cargo hold, what was he doing in there? Cas wondered. Finding the Jedi Padawan in casual attire and standing next to, an unusually high desk, Cas' eyebrow raised in bewilderment "What's with the grin? You score a hot date or something? Is she hiding behind the desk?" he quipped in a dry manner, despite that though, signs of his old self was returning.

Approaching Mat and the desk, his arms were folded as his mind ran through scenarios of what Mathieu could possibly seem excited about. The desk began to lower, and to Cas' surprise a woman wasn't behind the desk but a sleek looking cybernetic prosthetic - it took him a moment, but Mat's "Surprise!" was all he needed to know. It was... for him?

The confusion on Cas' face switched to complete surprise as Mat explained everything to him. Picking it up from the desk, the young Jedi Knight looked over its contents with, what looked like a childlike sparkle in his bronze eyes. When Mat had concluded, Cas was at a loss for words, glancing over at the Padawan he flashed him a genuine smile of gratitude "I-- wow, thank you Mat. You didn't have to do this..." he said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder "I've never told you this, but I appreciate your friendship. More than you know."

Placing the FF-CAR1 back on the table, the Jedi Knight took his leather glove off and began rolling up his sleeve stopping once he reached his shoulder. There, Mathieu would see the black metallic that reached all the way to his bicep "I'm going to miss this thing, but onto newer and better things right?" Cas stated before moving onto a next question "So, how's this going to work? I lost my left arm at the bicep but the cybernetic you made goes up to the shoulder... you gonna cut off the rest of my arm?" he asked, masking his concern in a light-hearted manner as he wiggled his cybernetic fingers.

Mathieu Brion

 

[Mathieu Brion]

Mathieu had been so happy and enthusiastic, but as soon as Cassie mentioned the possibility of a date, he faltered. The usually strong and stable presence that he exuded was quickly replaced by that of a meek leaf fluttering about in the wind. His mind went to Inara. Of course it did. They had shared a tender moment in his apartment last time they met but things had ended abruptly and right now, he didn't quite know where he had her. It felt terrible Perhaps even painful. It was all feelings which should be warded against but for her, he felt helpless.

No answer would be provided for the question. Instead, he simply stood in silence, trying to recover while his back was still facing the Kiffar. The plan would not be stopped and so he continued, moving on to displaying the cybernetic to his friend.

Seeing Cassie's face was all that he needed to know that the effort he had put into creating the FF-CAR1 was worth it. The Knight had been a good and true friend to him. If a letter had plonked down telling him that they were related, he would believe it. The large Morellian felt the hand on his shoulder - it made him happy that Cassie was the one to reach out this time and so he remained still under the guy's arm. "Maybe I don't. But it doesn't matter, we're friends and I trust you implicitly."

It seemed as if the cybernetic would be taken for a spin and Mathieu was glad to assist. It was much easier to take off and then attach a cybernetic arm with more than just one hand. And so he looked to the Knight "I'll help" he said, nodding at him with a friendly smile before starting to assist with steady hands.

During the process of attaching the new arm, he couldn't help but let out a chuckle "Don't" he said, looking to Cassie with some highly amused eyes "If I mess this up, you're the one getting a wonky arm, not me." he said, flashing a mischievous smile. "It's just to get some more space for everything that goes into an arm, you know? Should provide you with some extra protection too. And..." he trailed off, thinking of the electricity pickup wires that ran up along the entire arm, ready to spare his biological arm from getting electrocuted. It was something he could save for later.

Soon, the process was all done and Mathieu took a step back. He looked at his friend with careful optimism. "How does it feel? Is it faster?" the former Mercenary was obviously eager to hear the verdict. But even then, he would raise a finger "Wait here, try opening the lids at your fingertips, either physically or by just, well, thinking about it." With that, he ran off. Upon his return, he would look to ensure that the golden tips were revealed by peeking closely by the fingers. Once satisfied, he took hold of Cassie's mechanical wrist and pointed it away with one arm and brought out a taser with the other. His thumb pressed down the button, causing it to wake and without hesitation, he stabbed his friend with it. The energy levels were harmless, but it would sting.

Cadere

 

[Cadere]

It seemed Cas' harmless joke may have struck a nerve in his friend, immediately sensing the shift in Mat's feelings. Wondering if it had something to do with Sam and the fact that he may not be over her, the Jedi Knight raised an eyebrow in deliberation before eventually electing to leave it be despite his outspoken nature.

He grinned at Mat's amusement before listening to the Morellian's explanation "Protection's nice." he responded. The entire process felt strange as Cas' original cybernetic arm's synth-net neural interface was connected to his remaining nerve-endings, and as the arm was being removed it was an uncomfortable feeling as the Jedi Knight would temporarily lose feeling in his left arm again. It was something he hadn't experienced since it was initially lost and it was preferable that he didn't experience it again.

Once Mat was finished, all was well again and feeling returned to his left arm. At Mathieu's question, the Kiffar gave his new fingers a wiggle before moving his arm around in a clockwise and then counter-clockwise rotation, almost immediately he felt his arm's reaction time was much faster than the previous model and even more so than his organic arm - "Wow... my future wife will be very pleased with this..." he joked with a half grin. After Mat told him to wait there, he scanned over the contents of the arm again and noticed a little messaged engrained in Aurabesh:

'Whoever owns this owes Mathieu Brion a drink.'

Bringing a genuine smile to his face he looked over it, his mouth opened ready to comment Mathieu grabbed his wrist and moved it, drawing Cas' attention away from what was in his hand. Before he could turn to look back at the Padawan, he growled as he felt a sharp stinging pain course through his body - his muscles tensed as they felt if they were cramping up. The Jedi eventually realised what was happening before turning his head down to see the Taser's tip jabbed into his skin.

Instinctively, Cas used his free hand to swat away Mat's wrist with a swift backhand. Clutching the part of his body that was shocked, he poked his cybernetic finger into Mat's chest "What the kriff was that for, Mat?!" he exclaimed with annoyed authenticity. Seconds later, he noticed a blue spark flash from the tip of of the finger that was poking Mat's chest before sending an electrical output into the large Morellian. Regardless of how it affected the Padawan, Cas' eyes widened in shock "Crap! Are you alright, man?" he asked, before glancing at the palm of his mechanical arm "What was--?" he started with a curious tone but it quickly switched up as his gaze fell on Mathieu "Actually, no! You totally deserved that, freakin' nerfherder!"

Mathieu Brion