Scar tissue

[Neesa]

[member="Joon"]

Neesa managed to keep the smile from her face. There were times when she struggled to see the wider picture, or became tired of the constant challenges she faced. However, she was loyal to her master. [member="Vrak Nashar"], always so careful with his words, had managed to galvanise her support for their plans.

“My Lord is part of a council. I am his Hand. I follow him because…” this was perhaps difficult to word. “Everything I have, I have earned for myself. However, I would never have been set down this path without his guidance. So I have him to thank for much. The Sith have been out of sight for so long now. But not for much longer.”

There was a strength of conviction in her words that even took Neesa aback. She believed in herself and that she deserved more than she had been into. But perhaps she also believed she could be a large part of something much grander than any one person could be.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Arms folded, Joon just watched the girl talk. It echoed so much more familiar than expected. When she had finished, Joon rolled her eyes and agave a small, pitiful sigh.

”Been there. Done that. Worn the blood of betrayal.”

She lolled her head to the girl and spoke to her.

”Just keep an eye on your Lord, or Master, or whatever they claim to be. Ask yourself if you really KNOW who they are, and what you mean to them. For I know that he can teach you one day and promise you the world, and the next you’ll find another stands in your place and you have nothing to fight for. Nothing.”

Joon narrowed her eyes.

”You mean nothing to your Master and heed my advice when I tell you to prepare for the day you need to watch your back in order to survive and be free, otherwise you will be nothing. Much like now, you’re doing this for him. What is he doing? Training another perhaps, not giving you a second thought. Expendable.”

[member="Neesa"]

 

[Neesa]

[member="Joon"]

Neesa didn't do a great job of feigning indifference to her words. She was aware that the purebloods saw Neesa as a tool in their games. When she wanted more she was given more, but only enough to keep her content. It didn't stop them from being necessary.

All of this she could have admitted. That the words rang true. That perhaps she did need more thorough preparations for the time when she would have to rise above he own master or be discarded. Instead she merely grunted. It wouldn't have been safe to trust a stranger with such information.

"I support their plans now," she affirmed. "I intend to go deeper, see if there is any Kyber left. What kind of ship did you bring? We'll have to find another route out to get past the Neti."

A brief pause.

"Who was it that wronged you?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Joon stepped forward, a questionable look in her eye.

”What do you mean we? I know nothing about you, so why should I even try to help you? My ship is my own. If you don’t have a way out then that’s your problem. I don’t even know your name.”

She shouldered past the girl a little more into the cavern.

”And who wronged me is none of your concern. They are not of this life anymore, and that will be the fate for anyone else who wrongs me. Even you.”

Looking up and around, she brushed her hand over the crumbly rock on the wall.

”Is your Master making a weapon from these crystals?”

[member="Neesa"]

 

[Neesa]

"We need to get out of here without going back the same way. We can do that separately of course, but then I have the droids mapping the tunnels."

Neesa shrugged and watched the woman carefully. She was raw, emotional, even more so than Neesa had been when younger. The Sith on Athiss had a strict hierarchy and Neesa had learned more control over time.

"Kyber crystals are on short supply. Right now I'm merely establishing what it here, of anything. So... What is it going to be? Find your own way out, wait for me to conduct my search, or try and take my maps?

"I promise no more questions about your departed mentor. It sounds like they got what they deserved."

Neesa gave something between a nod and a bow.

[member="Joon"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

Joon looked at the girl, and nodded once.

”Yes. She did. And you talk sense. I don't know this place, and I don't know what they are up top. I will stick with you until your droids find a way.”

She stayed where she was, not moving.

”What is your name? At least tell me that so I know who to consider when I tell the Empire of your help.”

[member="Neesa"]

 

[Connor Harrison]

EDIT - Double post. Damn.

 

[Neesa]

[member="Joon"]

That question seemed to knock Neesa's confident diatribe off course. She placed a small ring on the floor instead of answering. Very few knew her name. It wasn't as if she had a public profile or a network of acquaintances anyone could use to find her through it.

"Neesa," she said as the hologram flickered to life. It took a few moments to retrieve the data from the probes. A network of caverns started to form together.

"We're here," Neesa said pointing to one branch. He finger traced down. "I haven't got another way out yet. I'm going to carry on to here to look for Kyber. I'll set probe B searching for a connection between this cavern and us and probe D for another route back up. Is that acceptable?"

 

[Connor Harrison]

Joon walked beside the girl – Neesa – and placed her hands on her hips as the projector came to life. She looked at the paths dotted out by the droids, and followed her thin finger painting a route.

”Mhm. Fine.”

She gave a firm nod, and looked at the girl.

”I’m not here to rob or steal, so what you find yourself you can take. All I ask is for one piece, or fragment for my own collection and research. When we get out of here, you never need to see me again unless you want to.”

Looking away, frowning, she replayed the sentence out, knowing it didn’t make sense.

”Wait. I meant in a way that if you want to join forces against the Jedi, then we can meet again. Sorry.”

Even now, a year after interacting with anyone, the clone still needed to learn proper social interaction and understanding. Too many feelings and emotions were surfacing to make sense of.

[member="Neesa"]

 

[Neesa]

[member="Joon"]

"Oh," Neesa replied with a look of confusion on her face. She had thought she was being threatened at first. She was forced to place her feet exceptionally carefully as they went down another steep incline. According to the map this would end in a wide open space three feet high that would lead to the best site for searching.

"I have never met a Jedi," she admitted. "Though the offer is welcome. My associate is has a rather large bounty from one of them, so I doubt it will be long before I do."

 

[Connor Harrison]

At the mention of the Jedi, she turned her face up in disgust.

”They are…vile creatures. Make you feel sick at the sight of them.”

Her features showed how much she felt sick of them; eyes pained and her mouth tight.

”They are cowards, and always talk about helping others and saving you, as if they are desperate to have a purpose and give reason to their butchering and genocide. You need to be careful if you ever come across one, but when you do, you must do all you can to take their life, or they will take yours and blame it on you.”

Joon shook her head.

”Jedi are nothing but rotten.”

[member="Neesa"]

 

[Neesa]

[member="Joon"]

"That's not far from what I hear in a way I suppose," she replied. She couldn't stay on two feet for long. Turning around she started to back down the slope on all fours. She touched a small orb that dangled from her waist and it started to give off more light, allowing her to spot handholds.

"What is it he says..." She murmured, thinking back. "'If you put aside emotion when you make a decision are you really alive?' He says the light side of the Force is an emptiness. A void. They fill it with their moral code.

"Personally," she grunted as she had to brace hard against the slope and find a better grip, "I don't see why you shouldn't use power if you have it. A lot of people wronged me. No Jedi came to help, so I'll help myself."

 

[Connor Harrison]

Joon watched the girl struggle, and braced herself to follow, arms out and feet turned to get a good grip.

”I hope you know where….you’re going and don’t get us killed.”

She faltered a bit on the loose gravel, grunting in frustration.

”And who is HE, your Master? Emotion is still…a dangerous thing for me, but I know enough to feel nothing but hate for the Jedi. I’m still picking up…as I go. Seriously, this path…could your droids not have a better route? We’re going DOWN, not up!”

Her face was frowning behind Neesa; this wasn’t the expedition she had hoped.

[member="Neesa"]

 

[Neesa]

[member="Joon"]

"All I can do is follow the map," she grunted. There was a subtle note of annoyance in her tone. Concentrating on the climb whilst answering accusations wasn't particularly easy. "We go down into the wide cavern then across into Probe B's space."

"I'm afraid they don't really have the intelligence to find the best path for a human to traverse. My master is..."

Neesa fell silent. Something drew her attention through the Force. She concentrated, pulling at the thread to find the source. For a few seconds she hoped it was trying to lead her to her goal. The noise of shingle tumbling down from above confirmed her suspicion. The Neti were following them down.

"Got company," she said before swearing and speeding up her descent. This wouldn't be a good place to fight.

 

[Connor Harrison]

Spoiler

Sorry!! I thought I had replied - forgive my lateness.

Intrigued as to the information Neesa was going to spill, Joon twisted her body to move a little, but never broke away from looking at the woman.

At the same time, they turned, looking up to the light from above. Auras. Bodies. A threat was coming. Neesa made it quite clear when the loose gravel started to come down from the movement above them.

Joon didn’t need to ask who was there, and she moved quicker behind the girl. Skidding down on the loose dirt and grit under her boots as they traversed the naturally formed caverns and passages under the half-destroyed earth, Joon held her hand out behind her back and pulled pockets of the Force from the walls.

Chunks spat out and weakened the passageways, allowing more weight from above collapse down behind them, partially blocking their way and making it harder for them to be followed – but securing the fact they really DID have to find a new way out or be trapped.

[member="Neesa"]

 

[Neesa]

[member="Joon"]

Neesa accelerated down, she grazed both forearms as she moved into a less controlled slide. Her feet found solid ground and she absorbed the impact.

She turned back up, sparing a moment as Joon finished her descent to shine a light at her handiwork. Through the cracks green tendrils appeared. The Neti were reshaping their forms to find their way through the collapsed tunnel.

Turning she saw the way ahead. There was plenty of width, but the rocks above formed a smooth ceiling just above waist height.

Neesa ran almost crouched double, but th ceiling kept sloped down. Soon she was on her hands and knees, feeling as if the world was swallowing her up. She heard Joon behind her, but also the voices of their pursuit.