Private The Dynamic Duo, Back At It Again

[Okkeus Dainlei]

Lothal
Grassy Plains
​

The disturbance could be felt ever since he landed on the mostly peaceful planet.

It had only been a few minutes since he had stepped foot off of the Blue Lightning. The Knight had only been to Lothal once before, and the feeling in the air was not right. An evil presence could be detected somewhere in the surrounding area.

Himself, along with another Jedi, were tasked by the Praxeum to find the disturbance and root it out. Who knows, it could be the Sith Empire still lurking around, the Bryn’adul clingy onto its shrinking territory, or the Sith Eternal somehow trying to have a voice in this galaxy. Whatever it was, they were here to stop it.

Walking up to a small hill the Knight overlooked the plains area. Nothing was immediately in view, but that didn’t mean something wasn’t hiding. It probably wouldn’t be much longer till the other Jedi arrived to help him out.

But for now, the man simply watched, trying to take it all in.

Caden Evesa

 

[Caden Evesa]

There had been a disturbance ever since he’d landed.

He wasn’t entirely sure what it was, it was a feeling he couldn’t quite shake either. It was a feeling of familiarity, something he hadn’t felt for a while and something the couldn’t quite put his finger on no matter how hard he tried to figure out exactly what he was feeling.

The young man stepped from his ship slowly.

The mission at hand was proof the Jedi hadn’t changed much. He’d only been with the Praxeum a matter of weeks and they already had him flying across the galaxy working, meeting other Jedi to go tackle threats that were holding out.

As a consequence, Caden had forgone his usual attire of Chase Racewear Jacket and Chase T-Shirt, instead opting for his Field Jedi Robes and Jal Shey Belt. It was a combination he hasn’t really worn since before his knighting ceremony.

Nearly seven months ago.

How time flys.

Caden shook his head, double checking his weapons. He had his lightsaber secured on one hip and blaster on the other. It was the training he’d received at the hands of the Mandalorians that meant he always carried weapons. He’d always been taught to expect an attack after all.

Plus, in a fight, his field robes were kitted out.

A small astromech followed him. Chirp had been with Caden through pretty much everything and he had a knack for being useful in situations no one expected him to be useful in. Definitely worth taking then.

He arrived to the meeting point and closed his eyes.

 

[Okkeus Dainlei]

​

Looking down the plain, the Knight watch as the fellow Jedi stepped out of his ship. Following them was a basic-looking Astromech droid. It was hard to make about features from either of the two due to the distance between them.

Walking forward he headed down toward the duo, preparing to greet them and prep for whatever would come. It wouldn’t be till he got closer that a…familiarity would be felt. There was something there that he couldn’t quite place his finger on.

That was until the Astromech fully came into view.

Rolling alongside the Jedi was Chirp, a droid he has not seen in many years. And said droid belonged to one person and one person alone.

“Caden, is that you?”

Caden Evesa

 

[Caden Evesa]

Caden flicked his eyes around.

The feeling of familiarity had only gotten worse while he had been waiting, patiently stood at the meeting point to see who his associate would end up being, to see who he had been partnered with in his first mission for the Praxeum.

He was hoping it wasn’t a youngling or inexperienced padawan. He could handle a padawan close to the trails but he wasn’t a teacher, he never had been. He had nothing of note to teach really, he was a better trained warrior than he was Jedi.

How times had changed.

Jedi Knight now, that was weird. Seven months ago he’d been nothing but a Jedi Padawan. Then he’d been knighted and had the honour to call himself a fully fledged Jedi Knight. It was something he never expected, especially since he’d committed so much time to the Mandalorians over the Jedi.

It was Chirp who alerted him to the presence.

The voice was a voice he hasn’t heard in years. Caden couldn’t quite tell if it was fear or shock in the man’s voice. The last time they had seen each other it had been brief and tense, but they hadn’t tried to kill each other like the time before that.

“Okkeus”

Plus, Caden was older now, more mature. When he was fourteen, he hated the man for lying to him. Now, he’d learnt that Okkeus wasn’t to blame for everything that happened. Inherently, Okkeus hadn’t lied to him, just not told him the full truth.

“I take it you’re the Jedi contact I’m supposed to be meeting?”

Okkeus Dainlei

 

[Okkeus Dainlei]

​

His suspicions were confirmed when he heard the robed Jedi speak.

It had been quite some time since he had seen his former Padawan. Years in fact. There was a feeling of strangeness when he spoke to the boy he once trained. The boy who he was best friend with. The boy who hated every ounce of him in the past.

From Caden’s tone the man wasn’t sure if there was still bitterness, or that they were simply skipping past the pleasantries. Regardless, they were here to take out some sort of disturbance.

“Yeah, looks like we are working together again.”

Offering a light chuckle the Knight tried to lighten the mood. There was no denying that this situation was going to be awkward. At one point they did try to kill each other.

“Shall we get going?”

Pointing in the direction of the hill he stood on a few moments again, the man began to walk ahead. Whatever they were sent here to take out, they better get on with it.

“So, Caden, how has life been treating you lately?”

Caden Evesa

 

[Caden Evesa]

They had things to do.

They had a job to get on with, the Praxeum wouldn’t have dispatched them both if it wasn’t a time sensitive mission. They didn’t have time for the fancy pleasantries, to share hello’s and “I’ve missed you”.

Okkeus made it clear he was going to try though. Caden wondered if the man, his old master, could sense how much he had grown in the force since the last time they had come face to face.

Caden inherently didn’t care for small talk. He hadn’t planned on seeing his master again, he had assumed that they wouldn’t have to cross paths again after the last time they’d met.

There was still a weird disturbance in the force.

The Jedi Knight walked besides his old master. He assumed Okkeus knew the specific details, cause he definitely didn’t. He’d never been one for reading mission briefs, they were too dull and boring for him.

“Working. Jedi things”

Short and too the point, inherently not a lie either. His adventures in the outer rim were kind of Jedi things. They were also personal things, but that wasn’t important.

Caden stopped. He wasn’t sure how long they had been walking. He cast his eyes around, looking down the small hill to a collection of tents. The force was telling him that they’d definitely found what they were here to find.

“I’m going to assume that’s our disturbance. Who’s going in first?”

Okkeus Dainlei

 

[Okkeus Dainlei]

​

It wasn’t just the tents that had a disturbance coming from them.

Caden acted like the two hadn’t been best friends for a handful of years. They hung out together all the time, even before they considers themselves “Master and Padawan.” Now there was a barrier between the two, a metaphorical wall that separated them from each other. The Knight wasn’t very good at making friends, so losing his best one really threw him off.

But the man wasn’t going to try and rekindle a friendship that didn’t want to spark. So the two acquaintances continued on up the hill, peering down at the small collection of tents.

“Yep, there it is. I’ve been told they are stirring up trouble with the locals. Let’s go make quick work of this.”

Sliding down the hill, the Knight came to a stop about fifty yards from the entrance of the makeshift camp. He wasn’t going to ignite his saber yet since there was no immediate threat. But that didn’t mean his robotic hand wasn’t inches away from grabbing the hilt.

His guess was someone would come to figure out what the two Jedi were doing here, and then maybe they could get some answers.

Caden Evesa

 

[Caden Evesa]

Caden watched.

Okkeus lead the way down the hill towards the collection of tents. It felt similar to old times, Okkeus leading the way as the master and Caden taking up the rear as the padawan, the student and the learner. They’d had many missions where Okkeus took charge and Caden followed.

The Jedi Knight patted his astromech on the dome, telling the droid to wait at the top of the hill. Whatever was going on, there was no need to get Chirp hurt if it became violent. Not saying Chirp couldn’t handle himself, of course.

Caden followed his former master down the hill.

The man had already been approached by the occupants of the tent. He was almost sure Okkeus could handle the talking, the former master was much better at it than the former padawan was.

Caden allows his eyes to dart around, taking in all of the information. There was a symbol he kept seeing, one that looked familiar but that he couldn’t put his finger on. Everything felt familiar, and he was starting to realise it wasn’t just the presence of Okkeus that was causing that familiarity.

Everything that had happened on Mustafar after his knighting ceremony hit him in one go, like a freight train. He realised where he had seen that symbol before, why everything felt familiar.

He didn’t even care that Okkeus was mid conversation, he cut the man off.

“We need to go. Now.”

Okkeus Dainlei

 

[Okkeus Dainlei]

​

So far, nothing.

The Knight watched as a small collection of people walked out of a tent. They all wore hoods to cover their faces. Better for the people, bad for the Jedi. Finding out who they were is the number one goal.

“Greetings! We are from the nearby village, and we wanted to come introduce oursel…”

His sentence was cut off half way through. The worried exclamation from his former Padawan siding feel right. The years they trained together led the Knight to realize something wasn’t right with the man.

“Excuse me for a second gentlemen.”

As the man turned towards the other Jedi, the familiar sound of blasters being drawn began to fill the area. Instinctively his robotic hand reached down for his lightsaber as he ignited the blade. The blue glow reflected off of the Durasteel weaponry.

“I would chose your next move very carefully.”

Caden Evesa