Private Rock and a Soft Place

[Kal]

Saska Trianic, a moderately prosperous Outer Rim colony on few people's minds, when everything went as intended. Even when catastrophe struck in the form of a earthquake near its largest population centres, the larger galactic community remained more or less unmoved.

Such limited suffering paled in comparison to Csilla and the ravages of the Bryn'Adul, after all.

Even so, there were those who were stirred to action - local emergency services and volunteers, Blue Crest relief workers, even the occasional spacer with relevant experience or a cargo hold full of supplies.

Whether or not such supplies were sold at an exploitative premium depended on the moral fabric of the seller.

---

"The quake triggered a earthslide, buried the north side of town almost entirely. We've got injured mixed in with the merely confused and an unknown number of missing persons. This tent's coordinating, we're setting up triage around it. Get to it, but stay clear of the worst of it until we're sure the afterquakes won't cause another slide - we don't need even more people down there, alright? Good."

Nodding firmly to the assembled volunteers, a stocky middle-aged Zabrak in a bright blue helmet proceeded to answer his comm, no doubt trying to scrounge up more support from somewhere, anywhere. Resources were spread thin, too thin.​

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Kal​

Amani was rarely late for anything. This, however, was one such rare occasion. She had only just made it planetside, bringing along a small stock of supplies leftover from her last job. It wasn’t much, but every little bit counted in times like these. The mirialan had never worked disaster relief before, but past experience had prepared her for similar events.

“This helmet feels like it’s too big for me.” She griped to no one in particular, wiggling the headwear into place as best she could. As the unintelligible briefing seemed to be coming to a close, scurrying to gather all the necessary equipment that had been laid out became an increasingly panicky endeavor.

Amani wriggled her way into the group of assembled workers just in time to hear the tail end of what was said. As the rest began to clear out, she stayed behind, and waited for the Zabrak to answer his comm device. There was an awkward pause, eventually followed by an equally awkward clearing of her throat, “Uhm, Hi. I’m here for the relief mission? Got some supplies for delivery, too…” Amani whispered with rising inflection, both afraid of possibly interrupting whatever conversation he may have been having over the comm, and uncertain of whether she was even addressing the correct person.

 

[Kal]

Excusing himself, if only briefly, the Zabrak turned his head towards Amani, squinting briefly before nodding to himself.

"Great. Jarina'll know where they're needed - small Pantoran woman in a Blue Crest vest, will probably be shouting at someone." Without further ado, the man returned to his conversation, the one side she was hearing expressing the need for some form of seismic sensor, and quickly.

Outside the tent, the area was buzzing with activity, a mixture of volunteers, emergency workers, and somewhat-less-than-average confused locals engaged in a wide variety of tasks, from logistics and setup to triage - and in one case, moving an unmoving body into another tent.

Whether at her fault or his, Amani would find herself almost stumbling into a blue-haired man in a volunteer helmet, a young man who at the last possible moment skirted backwards in an unnatural-looking pirouette, body briefly contorting oddly before he settled into a restive pose.

"Oh, sorry, didn't see you there. Apologies." For a moment, a brief spark of white flickered in his eyes as he looked her over.​

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Kal
​

Amani nodded rapidly to each word, eager to stop wasting time and make some progress. As soon as the last word left the Zabrak’s lips, she whipped around and out of the tent, into the center of the bustling base camp.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Amani panicked as she tried to slip through the passing workers, an effort that almost ended with a mutual faceplant between herself and a sudden blue-haired man. They both avoided the near-disaster, yanking themselves out of the way in an awkward dance that left the two facing each other again.

"Oh, sorry, didn't see you there. Apologies."

“No no, it’s alright. My bad… Uhhhh,” She filled the pause and gave the individual a once-over, having noted the peculiar series of events that just took place, “Not to bother you further, but have you seen, uh, Jarina anywhere? Pantoran woman? I’m trying to help out with the medical setup.”

It was a genuine plea for help, but also an excuse to extend the interaction a little longer, and see if her eyes weren’t playing tricks on her.

 

[Kal]

Pausing for a moment at her request, the blue-haired stranger made a show out of looking about, though a perceptive observer might well notice that his eyes seemed to swivel to their target with eerie accuracy, almost as if he knew where she was before looking.

"Over there, by the crates. Even bluer than me." Like the Pantoran he wore a blue vest and helmet, his hair matching their colour exactly as if he had for some bizarre reason chosen to dye it specifically for that purpose. Directions delivered to his satisfaction, he briefly eyed her once more, almost as if he was looking for something specific. If her talent had not fully withered away, certain parts of his examination might alert her other senses.

Kal was no stranger to perceiving his surroundings through the Force - in many ways it came more naturally than fleshy eyeballs.

"Medical, hmm? You don't happen to have any on-hand experience as well?" Despite general instructions to the contrary, Kal had every intention of moving on to the buried parts of town, his senses invaluable in finding the entombed-yet-living - besides, it's not like he could die of a little dirt.​

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Kal
​

Amani used the pregnant pause to study him in turn. Even without pinpointing every fine detail, looking at the big picture she could tell there was something odd about him that left his mannerisms teetering over the uncanny valley. And there was the... itch at the back of her mind, which seemed to subconsciously confirm that not everything was as it seemed.

“...Thanks…” Another moment passed where Amani considered leaving, but instead they found themselves sizing each other up with a glance. His question brought her attention back to the conversation.

“Hm? Oh, well, I suppose I do. I work as a field medic, after all… Why?” A hint of curious suspicion lingered in her response.

 

[Kal]

There was something unusual about this one; in some ways, she felt much like the Forceful mortals he had encountered, but it felt off, somehow. Not quite absent, not quite untrained. Corrupted, somehow, or suppressed? Inexpertly hidden from his senses, perhaps?

In an ideal world, he would simply ask or even request she let him examine him. Alas, that rarely worked.

"Excellent. I have ways of locating those still buried beneath earth and stone, but I need some way of excavating them - and someone to make sure they survive the experience." Perhaps he could requisition some droids for the former, but the latter called for a medic, which gave him an excuse to try to keep her close so he could figure her out. He had never been able to resist a good puzzle, even when otherwise occupied.

"Perhaps Jarina will have what I need - or know who does."​

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Kal​

“I think I could see to that,” Amani nodded, a little too quick to agree with the idea. At this point it was something of an unspoken game between them, as they both tried to decipher more about the other. She took leave of their conversation to head towards the stacked crates and get what they needed.

Like seemingly everyone else here, Jarina was preoccupied with a number of things, listening to a commpiece in one ear, and barking orders at a few confused longshoremen at the same time. Amani thought it best to approach with caution,

“...Excuse m-”

“What?!” The pantoran whipped around on a dime, making Amani flinch.

“Ahem… See that light freighter over there?”

“The cheap one that looks like it's held together by glue?”

“Y-yes. It’s got a buncha medial cargo ready to be unloaded. Also, where do we keep all the droids at?”

“Most of ‘em should be posted around the borders of the base camp for quick use.” Deciding the conversation was over, Jarina turned back around and continued yelling at her subordinates, sending a few off to retrieve the supplies from Amani’s ship. It was probably for the best that she was too busy to pry into the details behind the question.

After the brief jaunt back, Amani relayed the same info, “Sounds like we could get an excavation droid or two to tag along as we’re leaving camp. Are you sure this is a good idea? They said to not get too close to any of the city’s red zones.” Now that there was an actual method of execution, she finally began to probe the details of his plan.

 

[Kal]

Lips quirking upwards in satisfaction, Kal cracked his knuckles as if ready to get to work. Not that he would be doing the heavy lifting, he was woefully unsuited for such tasks by any reasonable standard. "Lovely, that will do nicely." Pausing briefly at her entirely valid concern, he nonetheless shook his head energetically. "Don't worry about it, I'll be fine no matter what happens - you might want to stay out of the worst of it, however."

He was reasonably sure he could give her sufficient warning if the need emerged - prescience had always been key to his skillset - but it seemed a bit irresponsible to gamble the life on another on that. Not when he was not sure where to place her, not when she only had the one body.

He had learned before just how vulnerable flesh-and-blood beings could be to massive physical trauma.

Guiding the way towards the buried parts of town, abandoned but for a few droids wandering through or hovering overhead, he nabbed a quartet of excavators along the way, found a bright warning line demarcating the unsafe zone, and gleefully crossed it before stopping a bit later.

"This far is safe, but no further." Promptly ignoring his own advice, he walked a dozen paces forward, leaned down, and placed a hand to the earth.​

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Kal
​

"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine no matter what happens - you might want to stay out of the worst of it, however."

​

Amani responded with a quizzical stare. Was he just absurdly cocky? Why would he be fine but she wouldn’t? She was too taken aback by the apparent casual god complex to even fully figure out if she should be offended or not.

The man took leave of the base shortly after, and with a shake of her head Amani made the choice to follow, hoping she wouldn’t come to regret it later. At the very least, she supposed, someone ought to be there to jump in if he did something stupid and got himself hurt.

Jarina’s words rang true as they managed to herd a collection of excavator doids along with them outside of camp, and before long they made it to the edge of the safety zone. Just beyond, debris and ruin was the only notable set dressing to be found, the quake having hit the city hardest here. Amani slowed to a step a few feet away from the hazard line, looking over to the man once again to confirm that he was really going through with his plan.

"This far is safe, but no further."

Amani scoffed to herself, raising her arms in a shrug as he willfully moved into the red zone. She took another step, pausing when her foot hit the line as she was struck with more reservations. “Soooo… what should I be doing? What are you doing?” She eyed him curiously as he knelt to the ground, still uncertain of the intent.

 

[Kal]

She was following with some reluctance but following nonetheless. Like so much else in their encounter, that little detail helped flesh out his mental image of her, and so his understanding grew, in his own peculiar way. "I am looking for those who yet live, of course."

Eyes remaining close, it occurred to him that he could just as easily search for the dead and dying - he was somewhat in tune with death due to his origins, after all. That would be the definition of a wasted effort, however, as corpses were useful only for the most sentimental of purposes. He was not at all convinced that he would be sticking around long enough to point them out, once the living had been tended to.

It might depend on if he found the situation sufficiently interesting, truth be told.

Eyes suddenly popping open, he rose to his feet, spun exactly thirty-one-point-seven degrees clockwise, and pointed towards what looked to all the world like a seemingly unremarkable area of dirt and debris some twenty metres away. "There, seven metres down and hiding in a duracrete stairway. Four lifeforms, younger humanoids. Students skipping school?" A bit too much information there, Kal.

Oh well, she already looked at him like he was crazy, why not lean into it.​

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Kal​

"I am looking for those who yet live, of course."

As if that were how one normally searched for people, “Of course, right.” She gave up on prying for more details while he continued to focus on his current effort. Then, without warning he stood up and pointed with robotic precision. Her eyes tracked over to the target: a pile of inconspicuous rubble nearby.

"There, seven metres down and hiding in a duracrete stairway. Four lifeforms, younger humanoids. Students skipping school?"

“How--?” Amani trailed off. He seemed so confident that she couldn’t help but want to believe him. At the very least, she believed that he believed it. With a gesture the droids were sent to the site to begin the excavation, her tagging along behind them. After a beat, she turned to the man again, "You like a Jedi or something?"

Some sort of Force-sensitive was the only explanation Amani could come to. More specific options crossed her mind: Sith, Gray, maybe no affiliation at all, but she decided it best to play ignorant to more niche possibilities; She wasn't exactly interested in flaunting knowledge from her past.

 

[Kal]

As the droids began their careful excavation - briefly interrupted by Kal telling them to avoid an area he figured was structurally important - he spun to face the Mirialan once more, a cheerful smile on his sculpted (literally) features. "Je'daii, actually. Well, among other things."

Eying her appraising, he quickly arrived at the decision to dispense with at least some of the obscurities.

"I don't believe we were ever properly introduced." Bowing lazily, a flicker of white entered his eyes once more in a manner that was almost teasing, as if his little masquerade was more for his own amusement than any practical purpose. "I am Kal of Masque, though you won't find that name in any sort of public registry. Not in this realm, anyway. I have never been particularly interested in ticking bureaucratic boxes."

Unlike your average human, he could simply choose to ignore the government, if he so desired.​

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Kal​

"Je'daii, actually. Well, among other things."

“Ahhh,” A glint of recognition sparkled in the mirialan’s eye. Amani returned the gesture with a lazy curtsy, mimicking his own introduction, “Amani Serys… of Tython. Which is very much in this realm.” The droids continued to dig away at the source, with more signs of the structure underneath beginning to take shape. The healer found herself stuck between keeping a serious focus on her job or leaning more into their intriguing little conversation.

“I learned quite a bit about your Order on my homeworld. Or at least it’s history, anyway.” The original Je’daii were, after all, intrinsically tied to the planet Tython. She knew their story before she ever heard of what a Jedi was. “Can’t say I’ve ever properly met one though, until now.”

She paused for a time, diverting her gaze to the scene in front of them in an effort to focus. However, watching droids rhythmically tear away at rubble quickly proved not to make for the most engaging timesink. Her curiosity hadn’t quite been sated. In fact she had less answers now than before. “So, if you’re not from around here, just which 'realm' are you from?” Her pretense of ignorance was slowly fading, replaced instead by a reignited line of questioning.

 

[Kal]

The excavation was proceeding nicely, the droids' specialised expertise far exceeding his own and thus requiring little oversight. His attention was thus safely directed the Mirialan's way, though a sliver of awareness remained focused on the people trapped below, watching for danger.

"Unsurprising, the Je'daii in their current form are hardly plentiful." They had not been for a while, truth be told - when he had first encountered one of their Enclave some time ago, he had not even been aware of the modern iteration's activities but in the broadest possible terms. "Not exactly an all that potent presence in the galaxy, but then I was drawn in by the philosophy, not a desire to exert influence."

There were other mediums available to him for such purposes, chiefly the control of information.

Smiling softly at her question, he made a sweeping gesture with a hand. "Oh, something distant yet close-by. A place everyone ends up visiting in time, though not always under pleasant circumstances." Chuckling merrily, he tilted his head. "I've heard it said that the view is to die for."​

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Kal​

"Not exactly an all that potent presence in the galaxy, but then I was drawn in by the philosophy, not a desire to exert influence."​

“Well that's at least a more noble motivation, if you ask me.” Usually. Depends on what philosophy one is interested in, exactly. Thankfully, last she checked, the Je’daii hadn’t committed any particular moral atrocities as of late.

"Oh, something distant yet close-by. A place everyone ends up visiting in time, though not always under pleasant circumstances." ... "I've heard it said that the view is to die for."​

She smirked at his indirectness. It wasn’t hard to put together the apparent truth behind the coy answer, though it was nonetheless a fascinating implication. “I haven’t had the pleasure,” she laughed dryly, “Yet.”

How do most people react to learning they’re chit-chatting with an interplanar being? Little seemed to surprise Amani anymore. Perhaps it was a symptom of her more fatalistic perspective; Through weal or woe, she rolled with the punches like it was all supposed to happen anyway.

It would still be hard to take the stranger on his word alone, if not for the fruits his previous claims were beginning to bear.

“Looks like you were right about this spot. You have any other fancy tricks hidden up your sleeve?”

 

[Kal]

"I am inclined to agree. Power is useful, as is any tool, but to seek it for its very nature is unwise." One part of Jedi philosophy to which he could agree, though there were other parts he found more debatable. The more traditional interpretation renouncing attachment, for one - in his experience social connections were among the primary sources of meaning for most of the happy, well-functioning sentiments he had met.

A source of much strife too, but that was the nature of the beast, so to speak - the nature of most thinking beings.

Smiling mischievously, he turned to eye the excavation work without a word, eventually nodding to himself. "Of the four, one is unconscious. Mortally injured, without aid - yet not yet about to drift across the veil. The other three are all varying degrees of frightened and worried. Hmm, one is having some rather fond thoughts about a local restaurant. Hunger setting in due to skipping breakfast, I imagine."

Waving a hand, he turned back to her - there was nothing they could do until the droids finished their work. "I find minds to be more receptive to my touch than bodies. So much more intuitive, to a being such as me, though I truly wish I was a better healer. Perhaps with time."​

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Kal​

Amani’s astonishment at the skill was somewhat diluted by the reveal of mortal danger for one of the entrapped, her brow weighed down by growing concern. “Wish those droids could go a little faster…”

Still, there was nothing she could do to help now, and panicking could only make things worse. She took a deep breath and repressed her worries, but now kept a stricter line of sight on the debris ahead.

“That so? Well, my specialty does just so happen to be, ah, healing. If what you said about that person under there is true, then you might just be getting yourself a crash course.” At least someone might get some benefit out of all this mess. Though Amani’s confidence in herself as a teacher was uncertain at best. There were few opportunities for it either during her time as a Jedi or in her medical career. She was, after all, still learning herself.

“It’s pretty much what I've been doing for the last… ten years, so, I could probably teach you a couple things. I-If you wanted.”

 

[Kal]

The droids were no longer visible, but the steady noise of their excavation made it clear that the work was proceeding without interruption. It would not be long until they reached the air pocket that held the trapped four - three of which were already aware of the incoming noises.

A bright smile spreading across his features, Kal nodded eagerly. "I would like that, it's something I've long intended to study."

Not the most personally useful field, for obvious reasons, but tending to one's own hosts was valuable in certain circumstances - and while death did not concern him enormously (he was, after all, a native of the realm of the dead), he did want to be able to help when it suited him. Such as now.

Death was not always the end of the journey, but it could be, especially for those liable to simply... fade away into the cosmic Force.

"Do you employ conventional first aid or more mystical means?" The latter was more intriguing by far, but even the former was better than nothing, though its usefulness quickly dropped off without the necessary tools and supplies. There was only so much mortal hands could do unaided.​

Amani Serys​

 

[Amani Serys]

Kal​

"I would like that, it's something I've long intended to study."

Amani smiled and nodded. Time to put her mentoring skills to the test, then. She managed to make progress with a young Centin Tillo in her Initiate years, surely this couldn’t be harder than that, right? The healer took a breath and sat on her haunches, her stare aimed vacantly at the hole the droids had dug.

"Do you employ conventional first aid or more mystical means?"

“Well-” the sentence hung unfinished. She dragged her left hand across the grounds, dirt and rubble running through fingers that once contained the power to heal all on their own. “--Conventional. The most effective method possible would be to combine both. But that’s… not an option for me.”

Anymore, that is. But she didn’t admit to that little detail in words. Though her response would probably seem curious enough to warrant the raise of an eyebrow at least.

As far as Amani knew, any chance of the Force ever returning to her was long gone. There was a time when she was too stubborn to quit just about anything. But months of trying to regain it with no significant long-term progress, fresh off the heels of her dark turn, left Amani a worn down shell of her past self.

At least life out here had become a second chance.

“Have you ever had any kind of experience with healing, or medical work? Or are we starting from scratch?” She shifted the focus to him. Either would work, but getting a sense of just how specific she would need to be could come in handy.