Private Scales of the Dragon

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

Don't worry about it? JJ was not skilled at healing, but even he could heal a scratch. The fact it refused to heal was a cause for concern, and yet the red head waved it away like it was nothing. Infuriating! What made it worse was how much her behavior reminded him of how his mother would react. The nonchalant attitude at her injury was attractive to him as it was frustrating for that reason. In fact, there was a lot of her that reminded him of his mother, and in many ways, Sasha. JJ knew better than to let his mind and feeling wander down that path, but it was bit too late to simply real them in. Sure he could stamp them down, make them go away. When this mission was over they were not going to see each other again, so it would be easy.

"It's not nothing," the Corellian shot back being as stubborn as his father or mother could be in equal measure. "They carry a darkside venom, and if it won't heal..."

She wasn't listening. Amilthi just kept talking, instructing JJ on what they needed to do next and leaped onto the cliff as though it were a simple step.

"Show off," he thought to himself as he followed suit with the same amount of ease.

Unlike the ground below, the surface of the cliff was littered with tracks that appeared to be both coming and going. There was also something else which was distinct. JJ pointed to it.

"There... that looks like someone was dragged away."

JJ did not wait for Amilthi to acknowledge it. If she was going to be stubborn about the scratch then they had to move quickly before the wound got worse. It was on the back of his mind that the toxin was full of the darkside, and that it was possible for the woman to feel the effects of that. JJ could only hope the small size of the wound meant minimal exposure. Still, he was concerned, and no matter how hard he tried, that concern radiated off his aura without any restraint.

Amilthi Camlenn

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Amilthi observed the burning pain in her hand as it festered. When paid attention to, it revealed itself as an inconstant phenomenon, really just a cloud of momentary stings following each other very rapidly in time, but with gaps in-between that provided relief. Yet it was rather stronger than it ought to have been, and the stings provoked a strong wish for them to go await and stop repeating. The gaps, rather than being moments of relief, began to be filled with anxiety of the unusual nature of this pain.

Noticing this development with some concern, but keeping her detachment from it, Amilthi decided to continue investigating this phenomenon later and put her attention elsewhere for now, on the touch of her feet on the ground, and on her visual field as she surveyed what lay before her.

Even though he was not injured, JJ seemed outwardly more flustered and worried than herself, in a manner that became palpable even to Amilthi, who was not normally the most adept at reading people. As if to distract himself, he strode out briskly following the trail he had identified, and for a moment she had to break into a run to catch up with him.

They were on a slight slope downward that descended softly back onto the plain, less sandy, but still full of dirt and pebbles, sometimes broken up by larger rocks. After a few minutes, the tracks led them to a particularly large boulder. As they went around it, they were suddenly faced with a black-robed humanoid figure lying on the ground.

Amilthi lost no time to kneel down by its side and turn it around. The rigor mortis made it difficult to move the body, but JJ was quick to lend her a hand. The body revealed itself to be a male human of rather sickly appearance, perhaps in his mid-twenties. There was a laceration on his forehead, but no other outwardly visible wounds. He most certainly did not look like a corpse mauled by Hssiss. Amilthi sought out Judah's eyes with a questioning look.

Judah Lesan Jr.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

A body. Judah wished he could say it was not what he expected to find, but the way the trail was disturbed he was certain it was the only thing that would leave that kind of path to follow. What Judah had not expected was to find the corpse of a Sith. The only marks of injury seemed to be the gash to the forehead, and the fact the Hssiss seemed to drag it away from the ship meant the human had been alive at one point in time. This had to have been the reason the man was attacked, and why they had been attacked. The lizards were simply protecting the dark sider.

"Sith," he said with confidence. "The Hssiss must have dragged him here and attacked to defend him. At least that seems to be what would make the most sense. He's dead though."

Judah did not mean to sound unfeeling or uncaring that a life had been lost, but his mind was elsewhere. This was a fact they could no longer alter, but the scratch on Amilthi's hand which seemed to fester with every passing second was another matter entirely. Satisfied that Judah had the answers they sought, and could give a detailed report to the officials which had requested their assistance, Judah turned his attention back to the wound.

An audible sigh was heard passing from his lips as he knelt down to inspect the woman's hand once more. Whether she would let him take it or not was not the issue. The wound needed to be healed, and perhaps now the red head would listen to JJ when he insisted they take care of it.

"Hssiss produce a dark side toxin, Ami," Judah shortening her name because he was constantly giving the people around him nicknames, "If you don't heal it, the toxin will seep into your system and you will succumb to dark side influence. Now is not the time to tough it out or be stubborn. C'mon... let's deal with it, before we get back to the village. Hmm?"

Amilthi Camlenn

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

"Interesting... So close to Silver Jedi Space. A scout, perhaps?" Amilthi started searching the body for any type of communications or data recording device, but all she found was a lightsaber. She ignited it briefly to confirm its red colour and disagreeable nature, then tossed it on the ground besides her as if in disgust.

"We should see", continued Amilthi, ever pragmatic, "if we can't get the ship's computer to work after all, or maybe find a data core to extract. Perhaps the flight path or something else of use can be uncovered. Your Order would probably take interest."

But JJ seemed to take little interest in this consideration at the moment. He knelt by her side and took her hand, feeling that the unresolved matter of her little injury demanded attention first. It was a commonly cultivated habit among Jedi, and very reasonable, to stay in the moment and favour attendance to immediate suffering over thoughts on greater designs, and Amilthi couldn't deny that his concern was touching and endearing, even comforting. At the same time, something about it irked her, including his shortening of her name.

"Let's be mindful of the dark side", she said with a pained smile that arose from the unfamiliar mixture of feelings and sensations she found herself experiencing. "but let's not fear it. I know exactly what the poison does. I had a friend once... who fell under its influence." Her voice and features became neutral and matter-of-fact as she spoke. "She was always a bit of a hothead, and she... wasn't unattached then. It amplified her anxieties, and I think a part of her didn't fully trust in his affection and wanted him to prove it by saving her, somehow. That sapped her own resolve and it's how she lost her balance. He... did pull her back, in the end." She smiled faintly. "He's not the person to give up, and very steadfast in his own particular way. But it wasn't the same afterwards."

"I can deal with this", she said with an encouraging, reassuring smile, "but I'm not going to sit down in the middle of this sand and rocks to meditate. Especially not when I can't get back to any sort of civilisation without you." She smiled wryly and rose from the ground, picking up the Sith lightsaber. "This is not a matter of minutes, probably not even hours. It will take some time. I'm pretty sure the scratch will be healed by tomorrow, but that's not all of it anyway, as you know."

Judah Lesan Jr.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

"Maybe," Judah answered with a short nod. "Tensions have been high, and word is conflict is inevitable."

Judah wasn't sure he was supposed to be sharing that, or if it would simply come off as gossip, however, it was the truth. If this darksider had been a scout, that would make a lot of sense. The easiest or simplest answer was usually the right one, so JJ accepted it. However, he was still a bit frustrated that Amilthi acted as the cut was not important. He could easily get the computer working again while she took care of what she needed to for the hand, but she was apparently as stubborn as his mother. He just rolled his eyes without saying anything. He knew how it would end all to well. JJ was going to be giving in one way or the other.

"My order... oh no... I kinda float. I am with them now because it makes sense. When it stops making sense... I am a Jedi... not loyal to any one political version of them."

Regardless of the fact, Ami was also correct they would like to know. Judah owed it to them to pass on whatever he knew or could learn. He did wonder how Amilthi would take the revelation of his allegiance. He was as independent as she was, with the exception that he currently allowed himself to be tied to the Silver Jedi Order. A short little nod followed his statement before he turned back toward the ship and listened to her talk about the dark side, and the scratch.

He did not understand why she thought he might be afraid of the dark side. It was not fear of the dark side itself that motivated Judah's concern, but rather the fact in their short time of interacting, JJ considered this woman a friend, and was concerned about her well being.

"To be clear, it is not the dark side I am afraid of," JJ paused and looked at Ami over his shoulder with a knowing look. "Your friend... the one that refused to give up, sounds like a stubborn Corellian to me, and I'm the same way. Affection or no affection, I don't want to see the poison take hold of you. You remind me of someone very dear to me, whom I have lost, and I am not sure I can just sit here and let you just..."

JJ paused knowing that he may have revealed more than he should have, and applied more emotion to his reasoning than needed to be there. This was certainly not the path that most Jedi took, but JJ was not most Jedi. Attachment was not something he feared, and he saw benefit to it. Even if the reason he seemed so attached was because of his past.

"Just promise me you will deal with it, and before it can cause too much trouble. I can deal with the computer and whatever else we need on that ship just fine, and you and I both know the sooner you deal with that the easier it will be. I'm not about to lose someone who could easily become a good friend before I have the chance to find out if I am right."

Amilthi Camlenn

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Amilthi gave an exasperated chuckle. If only Judah knew just how right he was by identifying Coren as a stubborn Correllian - and he was also quite right that they were a bit alike. It seemed she had a talent for running into men of their ilk and attracting their sympathy. The encounter was getting very confusing, and she was feeling out of her depth. She didn't react to his admission that his allegiance to the Silver Jedi Order was a very loose one. Her mind was occupied by something else entirely. She didn't even know anymore if she was flattered or annoyed by his approach - in fact, upon inspection of herself, she found that she was both. It was actually infuriating. That was what urgently needed to be sorted out, more so than any poison that she could just as well deal with in the tender embrace of the Force Nexus back on Svivren - or Kashyyyk, if it came to that.

"Alright..." she conceded hesitantly. "But call me if you need help with the ship", she admonished.

Back by the shipwreck, Amilthi looked for a spot where the sand was softest to sit on and lowered herself into a cross-legged meditation position, her hands palms-down on her knees. It was obvious which one in her arsenal of techniques was the right one for the purpose. She focussed her attention on the breath as it slowly flowed into and out of the body, tracing its movement in from the upper lip through the nostrils, down through the windpipe, into her lungs, and then further, following the energy it carried down through the abdomen into the legs all the way to her toes, and outwards through her shoulders and arms to the tips of her fingers, and then all the way back again. Soon enough her attention warped, it detached from the breath itself and there was no merely a flowing in and out of energy that had the same rhythm, but was no longer connected to the nostrils and lungs in particular. Her body began to feel light and immensely pleasant, the pain was imperceptible now, drowned out by the rapture and bliss that came from the absorption in the awareness of one's immersion in the Force.

It was a state that one could easily spend hours in, and in principle it could be extended for even longer, energising the body and the mind, cleansing them, healing them. That was why Amilthi had not wanted to go down this path now and here. She was lost on the world, completely unaware what was going on around her and in the ship.

Judah Lesan Jr.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

JJ shrugged. Yes, he may have proven to be more stubborn than the redhead this time, but that did not mean he liked the idea of "winning." He had been concerned, and the fact Amilthi did not seem to share the same concern for her own well being was frustrating. What made it so frustrating was the fact JJ knew he would have done the same thing had he been the one in her shoes. The thought brought a small smile to his face, but it did nothing to make him feel any better about the situation. Letting out a sigh he simply nodded when the woman told him to get her if he needed help with the ship. He did not think he would need it, but he was not about to be stubborn about it considering he had gotten the woman to take care of the scratch.

"I'll do my best to not disturb you then, but if I can't figure something out... I promise I will ask for help."

With another nod JJ headed to the mess of wire Amilthi had been playing around with earlier. JJ was more of a builder than a slicer or technician, but one thing his mother ensured was that the young Jedi could take care of a ship. Getting the main computer back online would not be a problem unless the motherboard itself were fried, or the power converters for the ship were no longer functioning. A small jolt zapped JJ's fingers after accidently touching an exposed wire.

"Well at least this thing is getting power," he said to no one in particular, and certainly not to the Jedi in a healing trance.

Looking back over his shoulder one last time, JJ remarked how something felt different about this woman. It was a fleeting thought before his mind returned to focus on the task at hand. The wires themselves were a rats nest, and it took JJ some time to make sense of what wire led to where and did what. After isolating all the neutrals and grounds, the Jedi Knight worked on getting the machine powered up again. After a few hours the main computer was humming like brand new, if brand new included some spark and sputter. It had survived a crash after all.

With some time to spare before Amilthi would come out of the healing trance, JJ let his mind dwell on the thought he had pushed aside to complete his work. It was an odd thing to him that he could meet someone that could make him feel this level of concern. JJ wanted to think it was because she reminded him of his mother so much, but the more he searched his own feelings, he knew it was something beyond that. What? JJ could not answer that, and it bothered him. Regardless, he knew it was something that was not about to leave anytime soon.

Clearing his mind once more, JJ pulled up the ship logs. He knew Amilthi would want to see them, so rather than read through them, he returned to where she sat. The process of healing would go much quicker if he added his energy to hers. Crossing his legs and closing his eyes, JJ gave what he could to the woman hoping that when she came out of it she would not mind.

Amilthi Camlenn

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

Amilthi had no idea how much time had passed when she opened her eyes again and, to her surprise, found Judah sitting directly in front of her. She seemed refreshed and... happy.

"How long has it been?" she asked, tilting her head. Upon hearing the answer, she smiled. "You're very patient", she said gently. She took her hands off her knees and put them in her lap, looking at them pensively for a few moments. The scratch was gone, but going by what she had seen of a poison like this, this might not be the end of it just yet. Still, she was not concerned - it was merely an inconvenience to be dealt with equanimously. Actions would need to be performed, and they would be. There was nothing bad or threatening about it.

"How's the ship?" she asked merrily, getting up from the ground.

Judah Lesan Jr.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

"Better part of the day," JJ answered.

He smiled at the comment about his patience. "If she only knew how untrue that was..." JJ was anything but patient. Had he not chosen to offer his energy to help her, the young Corellian would have been looking for anything to keep himself from going stir crazy. Growing up in the foothills of Coronet Peak may have gotten him used to a slower paced life, but it did not mean he liked to be idle. There was always some project for him to work on, training to be had, or some place to go. JJ was not one to ever sit still. The fact he had for Amilthi was something of a rarity.

"Oh not patient... at all. Just thought I would help," he said pointing to the hand which now appeared to be healed? "How does it feel?

JJ waited for an answer before standing, which was about the time Ami asked about the ship. Judah smirked and, after helping her back onto her feet, motioned for her to follow.

When they arrived at the way in, JJ let Amilthi enter first. She would find the computer alive and well, and the logs she had suggested they look for up on the screen. The body they found had indeed belonged to a Sith, but it seemed his mission was more than just a scouting run. While he was supposed to bring back a report of the SJO borders, the young apprentice had also been sent to retrieve something for his master.

"It seems the Sith want to try and weaponize the toxin. Not a bad idea. I haven't found why the ship crashed though. It isn't in the personal logs, and I haven't checked the flight logs or internal reports yet."

Amilthi Camlenn

 

[Amilthi Camlenn]

"My hand is fine. It was always fine - a scratch like that isn't what the poison is about. Whether it's gone yet, we shall see", said Amilthi nonchalanty and went over to the ship.

She inspected the logs Judah had found without commenting. She thought it would be patronising to. When he spoke, she turned around. "Oh, they have already. That is to say, some of them. They just don't like sharing. It seems one of them didn't want to be left behind." She smiled wryly, turned around, and leaned against the panel, half sitting on it, her hands resting at its edge to her sides. "It would be rather odd if the reason for the crash were in the personal log, wouldn't it?"

She couldn't help but think it rather odd that she had found him meditating with her when he thought there were still other logs to be investigated. Herself, she wasn't so sure it was worth their time. "But do we care?" she asked with a shrug.

Judah Lesan Jr.

 

[Judah Lesan Jr.]

"Always looking to one up each other," JJ added to Amilthi's commentary on the Sith. He shrugged as he turned back to the computer to see if he could pull up the flight logs and determine what might have made the ship crash. However, Ami asked a question, to which JJ had to shake his head.

"No, I suppose we don't care," he said as he turned back around and leaned against the nearest panel.

JJ let out a long sigh. Short of traveling back to report on what they found, it seemed the task was over. Of course, JJ was still apprehensive about whether Amilthi was fine, but as she said herself, time would tell if she had managed to purge the toxin from her system.

"So I guess we should be heading back to the village then, and if you're up for it, something to eat, because I have no idea how long we've been out here, but I am long past hungry."

Amilthi Camlenn