The Next Morning

[Jaxton Ravos]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Her first words were statements, revelations, truths, but no questions. It seemed he had said too much, or perhaps just enough, depending on one's perspective. As she abandoned her food and leaned into her clenched hand she continued her words, working out the problem in her head as she spoke the issues aloud. Curiosity might have killed the cat, but Randial was no dog. His present 'allies' though? There were no shortage of wolves among them.

His first thought at her question was I left because the Jedi weren't who I thought they were. But that begged more questions. Who did he think they were? Why weren't they what he thought they were? Was it the Jedi's fault or Randial's perspective? None of which Randial particularly wished to answer, and none of which really helped the woman anyways. But could he look her in the eye and lie to her? Pupil-less crimson orbs looked at her for a moment and realized he couldn't. But perhaps he could ration what he said, leave no more than needed.

"My perspectives changed. I didn't agree with how the Order was working back then. Things have changed a lot since then I've been told, but by then I had moved on. Taken on new responsibilities." He said, trying not to insult the woman or a Jedi Order she may or may not have attached to. She said her Republic ties were new, still forming, but that did not mean Randial would not be cautious.

"As for what is right and wrong to trust? I haven't told you everything. Nor will I. But I can ensure that what I do tell you is the truth, or what I believe it to be." A hand reached out to her, ready for her to pull up on it if she wished.

"Let us get you some water before Stitches begins to yell at me."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

I haven't told you everything.

You and me both. She remained silent. A sith who felt remorse about someone being seduced to the darkside in the past. A sith who took great caution with his wording for being political correct, polite, non-offensive, or a combination. A sith who took great care to make sure a beaten opponent recovered. A sith who was scared of his medical droid.

She blinked and stared at his hand.

But a sith was still a sith. It took her a moment but she finally reached out for his hand, fingers hesitantly curling over his skin as if she would be burned or bitten. Fire was fire and a wolf was a wolf.

She stood, her face losing a little of the color that had just returned. She made no complaints and worked to keep any grimace from marring her features. "Your droid," she breathed, grasping for less of a sensitive subject to discuss, "is really something else. Have you two been together for long?"

She would lean on him as they walked, more than what she initially wanted to.

It was a tie between what hurt most now: healing injuries or once again, her pride.

[member="Randial"]

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Randial would, a bit awkwardly, put an arm around the woman as she walked, attempting to help her keep her balance. It wouldn't come until she had started leaning on him, Randial most interested in keeping her stable. He would grimace as he moved his shoulder, the wound from where she stabbed his shoulder still fresh. Even though he wasn't among Sith and didn't need to uphold an image of strength he still wished for some reason that she didn't see it.

"Stitches is a more recent acquisition." Randial said, accepting the change of conversation. "She's an excellent medic. Makes sure no Sith have to treat my wounds. She's also exceptionally compassionate. In that she's sort of a safety net. Keeps me from going too far. At least, that's the hope." Randial said as they moved slowly towards the medical wing. "Stitches, can you get the lady some water?" Randial said as they came closer, to which it replied with a quick "Yes Sir". As they got back to the medical wing Randial would let Taheera down wherever was comfortable, then head for a small box nearby. He'd punch in a code and a pneumatic seal opening would be heard. He'd then pull out Taheera's lightsaber and beskar quarterstaff.

"I figured you might want these back." Randial said and came back to the woman, handing them over to her with no trouble. "If I may, any particular reason for the quarterstaff?"

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Randial"]

Healer's eye caught something as she perched on the edge of the middle of the cot. The rotation of his shoulder as his arm left her side. A moment of discomfort - pain, perhaps?

Blanket wrapped-form sat thoughtfully, finishing off the last of the nyroks and honey. Thoughts veered sharply at his actions and his question. He may have handed them over with no trouble but she certainly hesitated in taking them. Of course he wouldn't think her foolish enough to use them now. She had barely held her own fighting against him at full-strength. She was far from full-strength now. But more importantly, she was not being provoked to attack.

"What do you mean, she keeps you from going too far? And I...," cautiously, she reached forward and wrapped her fingers around the cool, metallic hilt of the lightsaber and staff, setting them slowly next to her, on the cot. Randial was still a wolf, though not a rabid dog at this point.

She shifted beneath the blanket and couldn't help but stare at the chiss not caring whether or not it was rude. "I would say I'm surprised you decided not to keep those," myrtle-ellipses flitted to the weapons beside her, "for trophies of your...conquest. However, in your own words, you are like no other sith I will ever meet again and I would be more surprised now if I wasn't surprised. As for the staff..."

It may seem like a harmless enough question, something easy to answer but it wasn't.

"It's a gift I inherited from my," original; she opted for something else, "family. I've been practicing with it since I was...born. I usually prefer it over a lightsaber. Even when fighting enemies, the thought of ending another life if there's another option...let me just say killing is not something as trivial as the galaxy's trend seems to be. Perhaps that makes me weak?"

Maybe he would recall her blaster set to stun.

"Your shoulder. I can take a look at it if you'd allow me to?" She took a guess based on his posture and her memory of the battle even though she couldn't see the healing wound beneath his shirt.

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

She asked what he meant by going too far. If Taheera could sense Randial in the Force, unlikely from her present status and his perceived minute presence as well, she'd sense a shift in his being. As if he was blanketed in the Dark Side, and then suddenly wasn't anymore. False Darkside Aura, a skill he'd learned from one Ashin Varanin.

"I hold no love for the SIth or the Darkside but acting as if I do is necessary for now. Stitches helps ensure that the man never becomes the mask, as it were." Randial explained as the woman finagled her way under the blanket and took to staring at him rather blatantly. Perhaps if they had met at a restaurant it would have been considered rude, or suggestive, but here Randial knew it as curiosity, and no small ration of caution.

"Sparing a man does not make you weak. Solving a solution peacefully requires infinitely more wisdom than applying force. Applying as little force as possible is an art, and a difficult one. Never let anyone tell you that makes you weak." His words were quick. Strong. Uncompromising. It was clear his more pacifistic beliefs were adamant.

"A lesson far too many Jedi haven't learned." He said a bit softer tone, realizing that he had gotten a bit louder. He then looked at her for a moment, at her consideration of looking at his shoulder. He wanted to say he'd let Stitches look at it in time, but she probably knew that. And as Randial spoke to her more and more he wanted to trust her. That she was more than he expected a Jedi to be.

Without saying another word he pulled off his shirt, revealing a small chunk of his shoulder missing from where her stab came, the wound still crusty from the burn. There'd also be evidence of another saber stab at his abdomen, a wound suffered from Anaya Fen at Roche. Scar tissue on his other shoulder, from taking a pair of Spears of Midnight Black from Velok in the Shadowlands. A line across his left hand where the synthflesh over his prosthetic hand met his real skin, a gift from Darron Wraith when he was possessed by Clockwork. Other saber scars and blasterburns were scattered about his torso, wounds from battles long past. All things he could have hidden with the White Current, but kept along. Another reminder that "Randial" was not a new man. Just a man in a new skin.

"Thank you." Randial said as he sat beside the clone, putting his more recently injured shoulder in front of her. "Healing is a talent I've never really had the aptitude for. It's something I know is difficult, and have a great amount of respect for.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Randial"]

Not only did he trust her enough not to stab him in the back, or chest, rather, he trusted her enough to tell her his dislike for the sith and the darkside. Sith disliking sith wasn't anything new. What caught the clone really off-guard was how he spoke of the darkside itself. Never once had he even tried to verbally woo her away from the lightside.

If anything, the history of their conversation pointed to him trying to reinforce her values and possibly challenge others.

Cautious amusement flickered across her eyes as he sat. "Were you a teacher...did you train a lot of padawans when you were with the Jedi? Because you sound like you did." The caution she felt toward approaching Randial never left but she was able to gather enough courage to see him as any professional healer would, as a patient.

The blanket slipped down her shoulders as she turned to face him. She pushed up the sleeves of her new shirt and extended her fingertips to hover just over the gash on his shoulder. She noted his other wounds in silence. "You might feel a warm and tingly or tugging sensation," she warned. The last thing she wanted was for him to lash out in surprise.

Her focus peeled away from his magma-orbs and traveled to his shoulder. She could feel the heat radiating from his skin. She settled into her connection with the force with a steadying breath.

Fingertips silently tapped the air just above his flesh as if she were playing a piano. The frayed nerves slowly knit together, followed by the regeneration of burned cells, muscle, and tissue. She wouldn't be able to completely heal it with her current strength level but she got him well on his way, taking care of the worst of it. It certainly looked a while lot better from the outside. Stitches would be proud...or jealous.

Slowly, the healer refocused on the larger surroundings and pulled her fingertips away. She studied what remained with a critical eye. "I would've been able to do more if you hadn't carved out my stomach," the dry quip left her lips before she could stop it. She blamed her own fatigue for her sudden lack of caution or diplomacy.

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"I taught quite a few. None who have become great Jedi Masters or adventurers that you'd know the names of, but I wouldn't have traded any of them for all the riches in Coruscant." Randial answered, thinking of Kida, Ellifain, and so many others. His lips would curl into a smile. "I think that was the scariest part of being a Jedi for me. I put my work in and I give it all I can in a fight or some political function and I know that at the least I'd have made an impact. But tending to a forming mind? Shaping the ideas of a generation to come? It is the most difficult task of a Jedi I believe. Also the most rewarding." Randial said as her fingers hovered perhaps half a centimeter from his wound, his shoulder just picking up the edge of her body heat.

Taheera would then warn him of the coming sensations and he'd smile a bit and close his eyes, entering a meditative state and focusing on the Force. He could feel her movements, her focus, her energy, but none of it was in the physical sense, feeling her actions in the Force. That last healer he knew was a great man, one that died fighting the One Sith. It was comforting to know that some Jedi took priority in the healing arts. At least, it was for Randial.

"Oh, let her heal your wounds. I see how it is." Stitches said as Taheera facilitated the regeneration of his muscles and tissue. "You just think she's pretty because she's not made of metal."

"Stitches. Be. Polite." Randial responded, and the droid didn't stop it's protest, just switched over it's complaining to a much volume and changed the language to binary. Randial sighed. "I apologize. Stitches can get defensive sometimes." Randial said as the woman completed her task. He could feel her stop in the Force, her energy likely spent by now. As Randial turned to see it he was impressed. He'd still have a crevasse in the middle of his shoulder, but it looked so much better. A quick stretch around and he could tell it felt a lot better too.

Then came the quip.

Randial chuckled a bit. Far from an evil cackle it was almost like he had just watched a child say something he didn't expect. "Yes. I am told it was quite the devil of a wound to heal."

"That is because you do not exercise enough restraint." Stitches quipped back, and Randial shrugged as he began to put back on his shirt.

"I'll try harder next time Stitches." A couple of arms popped out of their sleeves.

"You better."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Randial"]

She managed a short, genuine laugh at the exchange between droid and owner. Eyelids felt heavier as she gulped back a yawn. "I'd like to think Stitches is sticking up for me but I know she is still thinking only of what's best for you, Randial."

Palms pushed tiredly at her eyes.

She had just woken up. The last thing she wanted to do was sleep but it seemed as though her body had different plans with the cost of healing Randial and the worst of her own wounds. She pinched the bridge of her nose, stubbornly ignoring the urge to rest.

Perhaps a fatal character flaw.

"You saiiii," this time she couldn't stop the yawn, "excuse me....said next time? Is stabbing jedi going to be on your daily agenda?" There was that dry quip again, something that came more easily when her guard was down.

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

"You should listen to the girl, she's smart Randial." The droid added after Taheera told him the droid was looking after his well-being. Randial sighed.

Just couldn't catch a break.

The clone fought with yawns and pinched her nose attempting to combat rest as she asked him if he stabbed Jedi as a daily agenda. Randial laughed.

"Not intentionally. But when in blending into a pack of nexu one must appear to bear fangs." Randial replied, always saying something but never saying it plain.

"Can you not hear her yawning Randial? You should offer her a bed. Let me prepare one."

"She's a strong independent Jedi who can tell me when she needs a bed." Randial countered the sassy medical droid, then paused for a moment. pondering whether or not to ask a question.

"The family you spoke of, the ones who gave you the quarterstaff. Could we meet with them?"

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Randial"]

Brow furrowed in concentration. She was picking up on his clues. It was like she saw all the puzzle pieces but she just had to put them together. The force was nudging her to let go of her prejudices, let go of what she thought was true. But she couldn't shake off what happened on Kashyyyk so easily even if the way she was being treated now was so contradictory.

Eyelids drooped further.

"That's right. I am strong. And independeeeent," she insisted, stifling another yawn. Sitting on the cot, she found herself slumping further and further to the side until the chiss' body stopped her from slipping further. It took the clone a good, long second to realize she was leaning into the not-a-sith playing a sith but who she really thought was a sith or something else's body.

Sleepy eyes widened and she quickly straightened. Whether it was in reaction to his question or realizing her position was hard to say. "No, I don't have any family. I mean...they're gone," she struggled to find the right words to say. "It's complicated."

She couldn't exactly say she was manufactured from an ancient whiphid's pre-planning and deposited on the dark lord's doorstep where she ate soup and crackers for the first time.

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Randial smiled a bit as the strong independeeeent jedi yawned and slowly slid onto his shoulder without realizing it. He looked at her for a good long second until she realized she was leaning on him, or perhaps his question registered in her head and she pulled up a bit. Her verbal reaction was a bit confusing, the clone not seeming to be able to find a way to say what she wanted. Or perhaps give a satisfactory answer that held back what she didn't want to say and was still truthful. One way or another it seemed a sensitive subject, and Randial had no intention of prying.

"That is unfortunate." Randial responded. "I tend to find the things in life worth pursuing are usually complicated, but I won't assume to understand your situation." He continued, offering his opinion but trying not to press it. He kept himself in the same place, at her side. Not wandering closer to offer a shoulder, nor backing away to deny it. Perhaps she'd lean in closer, voluntarily or a reaction to a lack of sleep, or perhaps she'd back away, still cautious or even afraid of his presence. Neither would offend, Randial was just trying to help.

"Stitches, can I get you to bring me my box of lightsaber components? I think it's time to replace my old one." Randial said, and the droid would scurry off to obtain a box of crystals, diatim powercells, and other such materials. His last one had fallen into the shadowlands after being struck out of Taheera's hand by her own blade in Randial's hand. Now that he'd returned Taheera's golden blade he supposed it was time crafted his own.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Randial"]

Eyelids were already drooping again, head feeling heavier and heavier. She sleepily nodded to the sith who seemed to be something other than his title. "You're complicated. I'm IIeeaaahhh'm complicateder," voice trailed off as another yawn escaped her lips.

She was leaning again.

A flash of interest crossed her brow as he spoke about lightsaber parts but she couldn't grasp it. Her body was too fatigued. Randial's side happened to stop her lean once again but this time she didn't rouse. Chestnut strands of hair fell in a curtain across her face and Randial's shoulder as steady breaths left the tip of her nose half buried in his shirt.

If he didn't move he would probably get a drool spot.

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

It wasn't long before Taheera was leaning on his shoulder again. Soft hair brushed across his shoulder and he could steadily feel the warmth of her breath. Then soon after came the wet and cold of her saliva. Randial fought the urge to move, and came up victorious. He'd been though processes like this before, albeit with children instead of jedi healer-warriors. Randial would move the hand on his free shoulder and use a slight touch of telekinesis to pull the blanket she had a bit higher, keeping it snug across her shoulders. He kept a watch on the door till he saw Stitches round the corner, then signaled for it to be quiet. He was lucky, he caught her before she started speaking. It came over, quiet as it could manage, which admittedly wasn't too quiet, medical droid and all, and placed Randial's box of lightsaber materials onto his lap.

"Do me a favor and see if I have any notes or records on the Protosaber." Randial whispered, and the droid nodded before heading off. Randial would close his eyes and the box would open. Metal, Crystal, and circuitry would fly around the room, unbeknownst to the hopefully sleeping Jedi Healer. The parts would come together, slowly connecting notch by notch, circuit by circuit, metal by metal until the blade was done. Ignited it would provide a blade in a color not unlike his skin, at least until the cerulean shade was turned crimson by the White Current. Randial would skip that, for now, as Stitches came back with a couple of datapads on Protosabers.

If Taheera woke in the next hour or two she'd find Randial awake, going through datapads and scouring notes of primitive lightsabers, some of the first developed by the Jedi Order. If she awoke an hour or two after that she'd find herself leaning on a sleeping chiss. If she awoke after that? Perhaps she'd find something else. Randial was gaining a lot of experience with the White Current, but he wasn't at the point where he could put up permanent illusions or maintain an illusion in deeper sleep.

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Randial"]

The clone remained asleep through all of it: the droid that wasn't so quiet, the lightsaber crafting, and eventually snoring maybe not snoring sith who wasn't really a sith. Eyelids moved beneath closed lids. Her steady breathing became more shallow. Head stirred lightly on Randial's shoulder, eyelashes fluttering open.

Palm came to rub the sleep from her eyes as her head slowly lifted.

She winced, feeling a crick in her neck. Falling asleep while leaning against someone probably wasn't the best idea for the most comfortable sleep. But she was more than well rested. Eyes finally focused on the arm that had become her pillow.

She blinked and stared.

Rubbed her eyes again.

And stared some more.

The blue chiss had turned into a pink Zeltron. She jerked off the cot, startled. Palm grabbed the beskar staff and she extended it in defense as she landed on the floor next to the cot with a thump. "What the...who...you...I don't understand..."

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Jaxton awoke to a sudden jerk off of his person, literal weight off his shoulder, a thump on the floor. The Jedi healer was on the other end of that thump, with beskar staff extended and gibbering in a very confused tone, not forming any real sentences as she spoke but mixing her questions together. Which was to say, just a little bit more confused than normal. Jaxton however, was quite a bit confused. What would have elicited a response like that? Unless.

Kark. Jaxton looked at his hand and realized she'd seen him. The real him, no White Current illusion to hide his face. He then let out a deep sigh.

"It's me." Jaxton said, then snapped a finger. His visage would change to that of a blue hairless man with crimson pupil-less eyes. Another snap and he'd change to normal. "Got your drool here." He said, pointing to the wet spot on his shirt, before pulling up his sleeve. "And your stab and healing here." He said, pointing out the wound. It would look exactly the same, save for shading.

"I'm not really a Sith." Jaxton said, a bit of that 'she caught me' guilt apparent on his face. "Or a chiss. Helps me blend in without anybody knowing who I really am."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Jaxton Ravos"]

Mouth dropped. She stared more as he transitioned like some holo-changing smashball card. Fingers tightened their grip around the staff. She remained frozen on the floor, staring up at him. Critical gaze looked at the wound on his shoulder.

Brow crinkled in indignation even as she saw the drool spot. "Hey, I do NOT drool in my sleep!"

Of course that wasn't the most pressing matter. All the puzzle pieces he said earlier finally clicked into place, even painstakingly so. Confusion and realization crossed back with confusion flickered across her face.

"How did you...but on Kashyyyk. Why? Why are you doing all this?!"

The volume of her voice steadily rose as did her heart rate and probably her blood pressure.

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Though Jaxton was wishing the situation would become a bit more calm he decided not to use the words 'calm down'. They never helped. Instead he kept his hand visible, his motions slow, and his responses quick. Hopefully such a compliant attitude would help ease tensions, but Jaxton didn't know if they would. The jedi had been through a lot in the past few days.

"I left the Republic a while back. and I don't have any care for the Republic. But that doesn't mean I can tolerate what the One Sith are doing. I've been in the Jedi before, and I don't like the way they organize things, so rather than help them out by joining the Jedi or the Republic I decided I'd infiltrate the Sith. See if I could splinter them from the inside. Cause enough infighting that they were weak enough for the Republic to handle. When I was in the Jedi I fought against a lot of Sith, taught a lot of padawans, did a lot of things. They're a lot of people who still know my face, so I figured the best way to get in was to use the Force to get a new one." Jaxton shrugged. "Thus 'Randial' was born."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Jaxton Ravos"]

"Okay," she said slowly. Quietly. Staff lowered and with the press of a button it snapped back to its smaller size. "Okay," she said again, more to herself as her mind churned and processed everything that had happened since Kashyyyk. Even on Kashyyyk.

She stood slowly but maintained her distance.

"But how far will you go to infiltrate the sith? At what cost?"

 

[Jaxton Ravos]

[member="Taheera Sollo"]

Jaxton sighed.

"That's a tough question. One I'm hoping I don't have to answer anytime soon." Jaxton said, thinking on his conversation with Ashin Varanin. The letters he'd sent to her. To Seydon. To Kiskla Grayson, for the good that did. "A woman I respect told me that any undercover cop will tell you sometimes you have to make decisions you don't like to stay undercover. It's easy to say 'I'll never do this' or 'I'll never do that' but I don't know if I'm strong enough to resist. Or strong enough to continue and not let it change me. In the end I don't know. But I've set up precautions." Jaxton began. "Stitches for example. Private droid, tries to keep me more compassionate. If I go too far I've already made sure that there are people out there who know what I can do, and know to take me down." Jaxton shrugged again.

"I'm not going to claim it's the wisest or smartest of plans. Or that I'm beyond temptation, because I'm not. But I do know that a frontal war with the One Sith isn't working. I can't remember the last time I turned on the news and heard about a Republic victory over the One Sith. The Republic and the Jedi are being choked out, slowly but surely, and people are dying in the crossfire. I don't know if I can save the Republic, or the trillions of lives in the crossfire. All I know is that if I have a chance to I need to take, and if my actions save someone without anyone else it's worth it."

 

[Taheera Sollo]

[member="Jaxton Ravos"]

She listened quietly, letting him finish. She let the silence linger between them a few moments. She wasn't very good at reading people but in this case she could sense enough that he was telling the truth.

"You are carrying a great burden." Eyes locked with his. She understood the weight of what he was sharing, what she now knew even if she was still digesting this news. "And it sounds like a very lonely path."

Lips thinned into a straight line as she finally lowered her weapon completely.

Maybe her nightmares concerning a chiss with magma eyes would slowly transition into something else. "Is there anything I can do...to help you?" Her question was as sudden as it was sincere.