Star Wars Roleplay: Chaos

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The Sheep amidst the Wolves.

It had been a long time since he had seen her. Not since she had been Tomb Raiding of DK. He was curious what she had been up to. Sure a quick Holonet search popped up all the details about now Queen Pyne. An idea which made him chuckle. So he decided to do something about it.

Going to Naboo was out of the question. She would be sore with him if he killed any of her men. A thought part of him found amusing but respected. There is no way he would ever dream of her coming to him on Bastion. That would just be pure suicide for her. So he took a look at the map and found a spot in between not currently under the active control of anyone.

Then he had a small package sent to Naboo addressed to her. Inside of the package would be a necklace made up of a Terentatek claw on a length of leather. It included the following card inside.

To my favorite Tomb Raider,

Everyone and everything has a story. Would you like to hear the story behind the tooth? Come see me at ((insert coordinates)) and I shall share it with you.

-Marcus

The coordinates were to a rather nice homestead he was renting out just for this occasion. It was a little far off the beaten path but still had a nice view of the closest city to it from the second floor balcony. A few he hoped she would enjoy along with the visit himself.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]
 
Naboo had become the focus of the young Jedi Knight's attention over the past several weeks, more so than she would have preferred, though such was the life of a queen. With the title came responsibilities that fell solely at her feet. Her resolve to see her world and people prosper however far outweighed the challenges involved in seeing that goal achieved.

A knock on her door came, then followed the voice of a familiar man, a steward, as she welcome him inside.

"My lady, a package has arrived for you. The RSF has already inspected the contents and determined it is of no direct threat to your safety, though its' origin is still unknown. I will set it down on the table here for you, when you're ready."

The blonde looked up, eying the small box curiously. Having not expected a package of sorts her mind first wandered to Kurt, assuming that he had felt the need to send her a small gift, a reminder of himself, though her security would have likely discovered that it had been from him if that had been the case. "Thank you." She said with a smile, before the man departed.

Standing, Jamie wandered towards the box and slowly opened it. Inside was a necklace with a claw, one belonging to a beast that haunted her worst dreams. A cold shiver ran through her body as she held the item in her hand, looking it over. There were not many people in the galaxy that knew of her particular fears. The note however would answer her questions.

Upon reading it she blew out a small breath of air. "Marcus."

The coordinates mentioned led to a planet not far away, Belasco. It was a world she was familiar with, a wealthy and beautiful world of humans, similar to that of Naboo. The invitation would see her land at the capital of Senta, and lead her to a home at the outskirts. It seemed he understood the danger of visiting Naboo, and she was unfamiliar with where about he resided within the galaxy now. It had been months since their last meeting. Jamie carefully removed her encrypted comlink from her pocket, "Skyela, your services are needed until my return." A single breath of silence followed, then a voice returned. "Very well, my lady."

And with that the blonde made her way toward the royal hangar.

[member="Vengeance"]
 
Marcus wandered around the homestead making preparations for Jamie's arrival.........or expected arrival. He had no true way of knowing if she was going to come unless she sent word ahead. He had faith though. Marcus had never been nor presented himself as a threat to her. Despite the fact he was a Sith of appropriate reputation and she was a Jedi.

A very small selection of servants moved through out the place setting up and cleaning up. Marcus would of course meet her at the door but he wanted to make sure the house was worthy of the presence of a Queen.

Not just a Queen but a woman he held in high regard long before she held an office. From a time when she was just an adventurous young Padawan crashing Sith Tombs out of what appeared to him be pure curiosity.

Smiling and enjoying the fresh air in a rather nice suit Marcus stood on the balcony overlooking the city. A glass of water in his hand he waited. Waited for either a message or Jamie herself to arrive.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]
 
The ship touched down at the starport in Senta the very next day. The Jedi had only visited Belasco once before, but if memory served her right she would be able to locate a suitable speeder service to take her to the location Marcus had written of in his message just outside. Most starports after all had a transportation service waiting outside to take visitors and citizens to and from their destination.

As she stepped down the large staircase that led out of the building Jamie noticed one such service and made her way towards the empty speeder awaiting a passenger. Jamie herself was well known to be an absolutely dreadful pilot, otherwise she would have very well taken up a rented speeder herself. Unfortunately, if anyone wanted to see her survive the trip, she would have to rely on the skills and expertise of a competent driver.

Jamie waived down one of the speeders, and upon stepping inside, gave the address Marcus had given to her, to the driver. It wouldn't take long to arrive, and Marcus would likely see the approaching speeder from where he waited. She looked relatively the same as she had the last time they'd met, though notably her hair was distinctly much shorter than before. Perhaps a story for later, though.

@Vengeace
 
Marcus did in fact see the approaching speeder. He smiled turning away from the balcony and making his way to the front door. He would wait for her outside at the bottom of the steps leading up to the house.

He smiled genuinely glad to see her again even as he noticed she was not quite the same woman he had last seen something was different about her. Other than the shorter hair cut of course. She seemed stronger and more confident. It seemed life on a Throne had been good for her. When she did finally get there Marcus would walk up and open the door of the speeder for her with one hand paying the driver with the other.

"I wasn't sure if you were going to show up. You look lovely as ever."

He smiled taking a step back and to the side.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]
 
Jamie stepped out and offered Marcus a warm smile and a silent thank you by means of a nod for paying the fare and opening the door. Quickly the transport sped away, leaving the two alone in the yard of the estate, devoid of prying eyes and ears. The sound of ambient nature, the whistle of wind through the trees, and the chirping of birds surrounded them.

"Thank you. Though if I may be so forward I was uncertain that I should come. A Jedi, and queen for that matter, meeting with a Sith is hardly a small risk, but that you know, and that is why you did not appear at my palace doorsteps, yes?"

Curiosity however had gotten the better of the woman, as it always had.

"It has been quite a while."

[member="Vengeance"]
 
Marcus chuckled.

"You are a Jedi and a Queen? I am a Sith? Here I thought you were just a good friend I had not seen in a long time. Granted a beautiful woman with no equal but yet a friend none the less."

He turned motioning an intention to move inside.

"Well if I am to be equally forward I didn't come to Naboo out of respect for you. I didn't figure you would appreciate how many of your guards I would have to kill to make it to your chambers. Beside the last time I was on Naboo I kind of destroyed half a town and kidnapped a Jedi Princess. Not exactly sure I would be welcome on your planet."

He stopped holding the door open for Jamie so they could enter.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]
 
Entering inside the door that was held open for her, Jamie waited to the side for Marcus to enter himself, before following her host to the central living area of the estate. "Ah, working the naive angle, I see. I suppose for today I can be neither Jedi nor Queen, if that better suits your tastes for this visit." The woman took up a seat at the couch, watching as Marcus made his way over, crossing her leg atop the other, hands resting on her knee.

"And I do appreciate the restraint in causing a scene at my home. Naboo has seen enough upheaval in recent history that I need not send more families more tragic news. Death is not something I take lightly, though by now I'm sure you're more than well enough familiar with me to know such things."

The blonde leaned back, studying the Sith for a moment before she pried her next question.

"Dare I ask what you've been up to these past months?"

[member="Vengeance"]
 
Marcus took a seat beside her with a chuckle.

"I would much rather talk about you. I take it from your presence here that you got my gift?"

He smiled and shrugged.

"I made a heart felt attempt to settle down and put down roots. So that the mother of my child and my son wouldn't have to run anymore."

He sighed.

"For my generosity she betrayed me and fled with my son to Force only knows where. She could had told me she didn't like Bastion but I guess that was too much for her to accomplish."

Marcus forced a smile.

"You hungry? I had the liberty of having lunch prepared on the balcony. Thought you would appreciate the view."

[member="Jamie Pyne"]
 
The blonde reached into her pocket, fishing about for a moment before pulling free the necklace that Marcus had sent to her. Holding it up she gave a nod.

"I did. Very cute of you to send me a claw of the thing that frightens me the most. I almost didn't need to read the note to know who sent it."

She shifted in her seat, hearing the uncomfortable tale of his wife and child having been torn out of his life and lost to him. It was hard for her to imagine how difficult that would be for someone, but it did give her insight as to where Marcus made his home. Bastion. The heart of a new Sith Order, or so she heard. It was an intriguing subject though, given the rise of another Sith empire in the far reaches of the galaxy as well.

Jamie wondered for a moment, but decided to hold off on that question for now.

"I'm terribly sorry to hear. That must be difficult to endure." Her eyes drifted from him to the balcony. "Certainly. I would like that."

[member="Vengeance"]
 
Marcus look genuinely puzzled for a moment.

"Why would a Terentatek frighten you the most? Surely as much as you like or used to like exploring dark Sith ruins you have encounter such beasts before."

After a minute he shrugged it off standing and offering a hand to help Jamie stand as well.

"Not really."

He assumed she was apologizing about Anya.

"She was my Apprentice. Wanted to learn the ways of the Sith and be a killer. She also however had a habit of running off and playing Jedi. Of course when that didn't fulfill her needs emotionally and physically she would come back. She would come back and claim she had been gathering intel................to make me proud. Then run off again."

Marcus made his way up the stairs and towards the balcony where a small feast waited for them. It was probably way less than what Jamie would get on a daily basis as Queen on Naboo but enough to make it apparent Marcus had taken great care to make it special.

"When she ran off the last time I figured she went back to the Jedi and didn't give it another thought."

Marcus pushed open the Balcony door letting Jamie pass through first. A waiter stood greeting her warmly. Moving out onto the balcony behind her Marcus would pull out her chair for her before taking a seat himself.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]
 
"I have, several times. But I still don't like them. They're uncontrollable beasts of rage and they only have one purpose, to kill." Ever since Jamie had encountered her first Terentatek on Belsavis, back with Cerita she had become absolutely petrified of the things. It had chased the two through the heavy snow and nearly killed the two women. If it hadn't been for Cerita they likely would have been found decades later, their remains, if any, frozen in ice.

Jamie took Marcus' hand and stood with him, following along towards the stairs.

"I see." There was a small, awkward pause to follow. Jamie did not believe that the Sith, be it the purebloods or their successors that followed in their footsteps stood on the right side of the Force, not after all the things she had seen since falling into this world of mystery. But where other Sith had sought only to snuff out the Jedi and the light, Marcus had been surprisingly kind to her, despite their differences in belief. Still, a part of her wondered whether there was some grand plan behind those darkened eyes.

As the two stepped out onto the balcony Jamie sat, crossing one leg over the other. "Thank you."

[member="Vengeance"]
 
Marcus took his seat after Jamie did.

"That one was killed on Prakith guarding a Sith Temple. I can tell you the story if you would like?"

He smiled picking up a glass and taking a sip of water from it. Then the server removed the lids from the various dishes in front of them before stepping away. There was three choices of meat, with 4 choices for sides, and even a few vegetables. Marcus hope Jamie would find something among the choices to her liking.

"Or we can catch up on what you have been up to? Maybe both."

He chuckled as he reached grabbing a pan of steaks to grab him one before offering it to Jamie. While he had offered a few topics of conversation he was happy to let her drive the conversation. He was after all genuinely interested in how she was doing and what she had been up to.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]
 
Refusing food was both improper and out of character for her. The blonde smiled and nodded as Marcus offered her the meat, the light sizzling could still be heard as he lifted the lids of each tray. While traveling she was rarely treated to such lavish meals typically reserved for when she was back home on Naboo, or at an ambassador's banquet elsewhere in the cosmos.

This was a genuine, pleasant surprise, and the look on her face gave all of that away.

"You killed this Terentatek?"

Jamie had heard from her master that they were largely uncontrollable, even for those meant to be protected by them.

"Tell me of what happened, and then I will share my story."

The blonde looked down a moment away from Marcus, taking up the utensils in hand to cut into the plated dish before her. The smell alone was delightful, enough to make her tummy growl in anticipation. Food on transport shuttles and space stations could never compare to a perfectly cooked meal in a proper kitchen with the right ingredients.

[member="Vengeance"]
 
Marcus chuckled has if it was really that believable that a creature of flesh and blood could be killed.

He smiled taking a nibble of his food.

"Not by myself but yes. I cut that particular claw from the beast myself. Tell me something how much do you know about the Raaf sisters? Specifically Corvus and Melori Raaf?"

He chuckled. He knew it was going to seem odd and maybe even suspicious a Sith asking a Jedi details about her own people. He did though smile seeing Jamie seem to relax around him.

"Melori Raaf was a close personal friend of mine."

He paused and chuckled.

"Actually that is not entirely true. She was my whole world. However while we were never shy or dishonest about our feelings for each other we were none the less discrete."

Marcus paused.

"That was until her Master pissed off the entire One Sith council and got them both exiled. A week later I got a message from Melori to meet her on Prakith. To my amazement she was still intent on proving her loyalty to the One Sith in hopes they would take her back. Not before however she told me her story. The real story........not the rumors, speculations, or cover stories."

Marcus smiled.

"Anyway on Prakith was a Sith Temple held by a Rogue Sith Lord that had been a thorn in the side of the very people that exiled her. So Melori and I decided to liberate that Temple."

Marcus motioned towards the claw.

"That guy was guarding the only way to the Sith Lords personal Chambers."

[member="Jamie Pyne"]
 
Jamie scratched her head. Marcus' question caught her off guard. The girl was not quite familiar with all that many Jedi, save for those few she had direct involvement with over the past. Aela, Taheera, Jacen, Connor, Kaili and Micah were about the extent of Jedi she knew on any personal level. The names Corvus and Melori didn't ring any bells with her, nor did the family surname of Raaf.

"I'm sorry. I'm not familiar with those women."

And while Jamie listened to the story, she wasn't able to pick up on any identifying reminders that might give her a glimpse as to who they were. The best she could guess were that they were older than she, affiliated with another order aside from the Silver or New Jedi Order.

"Where were they from? I'm afraid my knowledge of specific Jedi runs thin. Perhaps you forget I am still rather young, and my training as a Jedi wasn't one spent within a temple as a child through the years. I'm a bit unorthodox when it comes to Jedi, I think."

After all, she was only nineteen, and there had been a great many Jedi Orders that had come and gone before her time. Not only that, but she had largely been isolated from the outside galaxy while living on Naboo for most of her life. The woman was interested in what he came to find within the temple that the Terentatek was guarding, however.

"But what did you two find within the tomb?"

[member="Vengeance"]
 
Marcus chuckled. He should have been surprised. In fact he would have been surprised if not for how common it was for him to know more about Jedi as a whole than any individual Jedi.

"Corvus and Melori were Republic Jedi until they had a falling out. During which Melori stole a Jedi fighter and tried to flee only to be shot down, crash into, and almost die on Prakith. There is a rumor............sorry was a rumor floating around that it was Corvus herself that ordered Melori shot down."

He paused taking a bite of food before continuing.

"However Melori was rescued by a Sith Lord, nursed back to health, and partially trained. A Sith that would later defect and become known as Jedi Master Taeli Raaf of the Galactic Alliance. Last I knew Taeli was working out of the Temple of Lothal."

He smiled.

"I met Melori years later on a Crystal hunt on Dagobah when Melori was training under Darth Venefica. From the moment I first laid eyes on Melori it was lust at first sight."

He winked at Jamie with a smirk.

"As far as the Sith Temple on Prakith years later we found exactly what we intended to find. A bunch of soon to be dead Sith. The beast was an unexpected find that took quite a bit of doing to put down. I don't recall finding any artifacts or anything of material value but if we did Melori kept it. I was there for her............not treasure."

Marcus chuckled.

"Feth I offered to leave the One Sith myself just to be with her. Of course she refused to let me.........she was more worried about my reputation with them than I was."

He paused staring at his plate for a moment before looking back up at Jamie.

"It is my single greatest regret...........that I didn't push the issue. It was the last time I saw her."

[member="Jamie Pyne"]
 
"I see. I'm afraid I would have been too young to recall them. The Republic fell while I was still a child." Jamie had been only twelve when the final legs of the Republic broke from beneath it. The war with the One Sith, as she learned through her studies, and its own civil war finally drove it to destruction. Fragments of the shattered Republic sprung up in and around the core several times since then, though none ever stabilized enough to flourish before being smothered once more.

"I know scarce details of the Jedi of the Republic. The New Jedi Order, and the Silver Jedi are but the only two I am at all familiar with. Even then I'm afraid I can recall only a handful of notably faces and names during my time there." Taeli was a new face when she had been first introduced on Lothal, and in fact, Jamie had yet to see her again since that singular meeting. It was odd, thinking back now that she had never bumped into the woman again.

No less odd than a tale of Jedi and Sith siblings though. What a family dynamic that must have been. Aela, her master, had similar situations with now distant relatives, though none were so volatile and close to heart as a sibling. That would be a tough pill to swallow. Though Taeli having been a Sith was news to her, and the fact that she shared a name with both Corvus and Melori struck her as odd. "Taeli is another of the sisters then? I never knew."

But that was beside the point, it was now obvious why Marcus was so interested in one of the sisters. "Oh, you loved her. That claw was simply a lingering souvenir from your last trip with her then? Perhaps you ought to keep it then, no?"

[member="Vengeance"]
 
Marcus shook his head.

"No I want you to have it. I think she would have liked you. Besides one should always seek to conquer fear. Perhaps you will one day have one of your own to go with it."

Marcus continued to eat as they talked.

"Enough about me and the tragedies of the past. What have you been up to since we last saw each other on DK? I image the tale is much more uplifting than mine. You are after all a Queen."

He smiled turning for a minute to gaze at the view before turning back to look at her. In truth he really had not intended to go that far in depth with his own story. He was simply feeling nostalgic about the old days. Days filled with purpose.........days filled with meaning. He missed it more than he would ever admit it. He felt lost in this current galaxy of peaceful Sith and Jedi/Sith alliances. Sure as he got older he came to despise what he viewed as senseless genocide. This however was something else entirely. This was stagnation almost as if the fall of the One Sith had caused his people to lose heart.

[member="Jamie Pyne"]
 
"Very well. It is rude to decline a gift twice."

As much as she was in fact afraid of the creatures, this was only a claw, and therefore, to the best of her knowledge, had no means of bringing harm to her. Though perhaps it might raise questions, should she choose to ever actually wear it. Jamie doubted that in fact she would ever have a second one to make a pair unless Marcus himself gifted her another. The blonde was not all that eager to go off hunting the very thing that nearly killed her twice. No, she was quite content far away from them, wagering that wherever she explored would be devoid of such creatures.

"Thank you." She said, a small genuine smile accompanied her words.

Jamie took a bite of her food, considering for a few seconds what she would tell him. "Well. The galaxy has a sense of humor, that much I've learned. A long while back I met a man named Castor on Lothal. At the time I assumed him to be Sith. He and others of his kind were in one of the caves there, looking to loot it for crystals attuned to the Force. I was fortunate enough to stop him, though not without injury." She'd leave out the part where he collapsed part of the tunnel on her and nearly killed her.

"I came across him once again, on Mustafar. I was there researching an ancient ruin belonging to a Sith when at the time I was unaware, but what I would come to learn as the First Order arrived in force. We exchanged words briefly. I tried to determine the reason for this war between the Alliance and the First Order, but there seemed to be none other than a war of convenience. One side wanting what the other had. Our conversation did not end politely."

[member="Vengeance"]
 

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