Private Where The Sandstorm Drifts

[Arcturus Dinn]

It had taken him a damn sight longer than expected to crawl from the suite which had been provided to him by the IGBC at Veles Oshu 's behest, and into the bright Coruscanti morning. Days had faded within that place, following his Master's departure, and though he had felt somewhat reinvigorated after their discussions, herded back onto a saner path than he'd known the weeks prior, the mere act of pushing that first domino had seemed all at once monumental.​

​

Arcturus had spent that time sobering up. He'd scrubbed down the hotel suite, though he knew there were services for that, taken perhaps the longest shower of his pitiful existence, and changed into the fresh set of clothes provided by the Clan. Several new outfits had been gathered for him, and though they were not inherently his taste he could not deny their quality and comfort. White button down shirt, tailored suit jacket of various shades of blue, black dress pants, and polished leather shoes. He emerged from that place a man reborn, broken heart carefully tucked away behind layers upon layers of perfectly formed barricades of apathy.​

​

Himself. That was the task at hand. To truly find himself, and do what was best for Arcturus. He twirled the keys to a speeder bike he'd requested around his index, satisfied that he was no longer scraping the bottom of the barrel and merely fighting to survive rather than thrive, and approached that sleek beast which purred upon ignition. All at once it felt as though the breath he'd been holding for as long as he could recall was released. He mounted the bike, and kicked off with a rush of adrenaline. Out into the City proper.​

​

Though there were a handful of tasks to complete before he made his ultimate departure from this world, in that moment the boy did not have any inherent path in mind. He drove through the streets and allowed his brain to shut off, enjoying just the thrill of the ride and the euphoria which came with a renewed sense of purpose. How long he drove, and to which depths of the ecumenopolis he reached, he did not know. Frankly did not care. It was heavenly.​

​

Until it wasn't.​

​

The speeder coughed and spluttered rather unexpectedly, and almost threw him from his seat as it ground to a halt. Down as far as he had come, the natural light was filtered down through the layers above and waned, casting him in a darkness illuminated only by shop signs and half-broken street lamps. So much for a moments peace, he dismounted and glanced at the vehicle with unflinching frustration. "Karkin' great," he muttered, his unusually good mood now lying in pieces upon the floor around it. Gaze shifted left then right, before he caught sight of a garage just a few paces ahead.​

​

Was fate finally throwing him a bone?​

​

He drew upon the Force, deep enough in the City's underlayers to fear little in the way of wrath from any of the Jedi who called this place home - not least given that the pure saturation of their own Ashlan brilliance easily outshined one minute use of the Force - and allowed it to empower him enough that even his gaunt frame could trudge the bike toward the shop. Trudge, trudge, trudge, he was upon the garage in no time at all. Probably best he didn't let the Clan know about this, else someone would likely be on the chopping block for supplying such a defective product.​

​

Then again, why should he care about their fate?​

 

[Tamiko Sabo]

The morning pull was, as anticipated, slow. Smashed bikes and disembodied droids usually came flowing from Coruscant’s reliably intoxicated nightlife. But for the time being, all that existed was a janky small-scale garage notably dead except for the shop keep taking a drag of his cigarette outside. Settled at the garage countertop with her shoulders squared over a decommissioned droid head, Tamiko balanced a soldering iron between her fingers while her other hand kept busy brushing through her hair as she stared intently down at the piece of machinery.

Tinkering had always been a reliable distraction, one she found she depended on more and more frequently. It served as an effective method to combat the restlessness she’d grown accustomed to recently. On an impulse, she felt a rush of satisfaction hearing the hum of electricity as one of the droid’s eyes powered up, a grin pulling at her lips. Nonetheless she still felt the build up. Silence invited her thoughts to roam.
The foundation she’d built here felt shaky. She never had an acute sense of direction instilled even sunk this deep in the pockets of the city.

Dismissively she rolled her shoulders, falling back into the hum of tinkering, letting herself relax and shake some tension as she massaged her wrist with her other hand.

The quiet oblivion was stirred by a brief moment of incongruence. A presence crashing down on the familiar environment like a wave, irritating her senses. The awareness she had was brief but uncharacteristically strong, never pointing in a direction just outlining the very obtrusive presence of something. The project at hand was instantly forgotten about, replaced with a stream of thoughts spurred on by the tension she suddenly felt loaded with.

She dipped her head contemplatively, her only outward response to the man approaching the garage with apparent effort. By the sounds of trailing gravel spitting against metal, it seemed he packed a speeder, in rough condition no doubt given the audible sputtering engine.

The man's footsteps subsided along with her awareness, the coolness easing into something that felt relatively normal. She was left sitting with deep speculation, her eyes flitting towards the entrance to the garage briefly before returning to the mess of a circuit board in her hands unable to form a thought around what she’d just felt. She remained at her habitual spot, facing forward. Absently staring at what she’d been utterly engrossed with for the past hour, drawn out of it so abruptly.

The shopkeeper straightened, the pole he was leaning against giving an audible whine as he shifted his weight. He quirked an eyebrow at the young incredulously well dressed patron seemingly untouched by the filth of the underworld. No better description for a fish out of water. But something about the way he carried himself implied he wasn’t all just appearances.

The shop keep moved past the opened overhead doors, closing the distance and meeting Arcturus outside. With a quick once over of both the kid and his speeder he let out an amused whistle.

“Looks rough,” he commented nonchalantly, waving Arcturus inside, “What can I do for you?”

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Just a few feet, sure, but in that moment he might well have had to cross the entire breadth of a vast and perilous desert to make his destination. Slow going with so heavy a beast in tow, even with the Force running its boons through his muscles and wicking away the fatigue as it came. He ground to a halt at the establishment, and loosed a heavy enough sigh.​

​

The place seemed dead. Beyond the man who lingered outside with cigarra clutched between his fingers, he sensed one other in the immediate vicinity; the former held his immediate attention, though, so he gave the other no heed. Just watched as he was approached, and assessed alongside the speeder. Arcturus knew how he looked, knew how out of place he appeared in the well tailored clothes which screamed higher society, but he ignored any judgements sent forth by the other.​

​

Just a few days prior he'd have fit right in at these levels. Nay, he'd probably have been swept further in, to the depths burrowed below. A place for vagabonds and junkies... And they'd have been right to do so. Arcturus had cleaned up good, though a few remnants of the past few months littered him all the same. Thin scars which danced along his hairline, and though mostly covered up a larger one which followed the curve of some great maw lay white where neck met with shoulder. Something had tried to take a bite out of him, at some point in time.​

​

Thankfully the worst of that was covered by his shirt collar.​

​

"Looks great," he retorted, because in appearances it did. It was shiny and new, top of the line. No doubt a model that hadn't even been fully released to the public yet. He wouldn't put it past them to give him newer toys, after all. "Sounds horrendous." Gestured inside, Arcturus once more pushed the bike onward. The repulsors were thankfully still stable and working, it wasn't completely scraping against the ground, but it was still heavy without an active engine. Once it was inside, in one of the bays, he turned back to the worker he was speaking with.​

​

"She needs a look over, see if you can't figure out what's turned her purr to a roar." He stuck the man with a suddenly sharp gaze, not unfriendly or hostile but one that meant business. "No upcharges. No poodoo about oil change, or needing some parts replaced. She's brand new." If something was required for the engine itself, of course, he'd get it replaced. That went without saying. But the rest? No. He wouldn't be played for a fool.​

​

Only in the aftermath of his words did he take note of the rest of the garage, and his gaze inevitably fell upon the tinkering girl. Curiosity rose within him as he regarded not just her but the project at hand, a droid - or at least part of it - it seemed. More than that though, the girl's eyes and the scarring on her face took his attention. He lingered a little longer there than he had intended, intrigued as to how she managed to continue her work with so obvious an impairment, before looking back to the man.​

​

"What do you think?" he asked, "Are my terms agreeable?"​

​

Tamiko Sabo ​

 

[Tamiko Sabo]

The worker grimaced, letting out a forced exhale, "Sure, won't leave a scratch." Tone crawling with irritation, the worker pressed down the cigar he'd been nursing, extinguishing it against a work table with a hiss, leaving a circle of ash. "I'd shake on it but you must be afraid of getting your hands dirty," He stared down Arcturus a moment longer.

"Tamiko" the worker didn't bother looking over, aware she was listening. "Why don't you deal with this."

Having been casually eavesdropping she felt something akin to exasperation bubble inside her when she was brought into the conversation. Dismissing her previous suspicion she inwardly groaned. Of course she'd worked with plenty of entitled people before, just no one who sounded like they'd just come from a cocktail party. Still, she couldn't ignore a sense of curiosity building in her, maybe it'd prove challenging enough to be interesting?

"Can't handle it yourself?" She directed towards the worker, humor injected into her voice with her back still facing them. Sliding out of the chair, she tracked her way over to the pair pulling her hair back haphazardly. The other worker met her halfway with a grunt, whispering something indistinctive about the job at hand, definitely throwing in a few lines about appearance to be accommodating. With that he shook his head and disappeared out the entrance, lighting another cigar with a tsk. Stifling her reaction, something between a chuckle and grin died on her lips. So a rich boy found his way down to the depths of Coruscant? Should be a nice gig. The question of how he managed to get lost here was naturally eating at her. A naïve topsider with no sense of direction? Or the world's biggest cheapskate.

But he didn't strike her as dense, if anything he'd been uniquely direct. Having read the shop keep for a scammer pretty accurately. Or maybe that's just how he talks to people. As if everyone has it out for him.

She approached, regarding him briefly before shifting her attention to his ride with a small almost incredulous smile. "People don't usually park their life's savings here," she commented in a mixture of amusement and intrigue, trying to strike conversation. Anything to smooth out the atmosphere. She didn't bother bringing up the obvious question of why he was here of all places quite yet.

Point is, he was here.

Point is, he had money.

"Sounds like a nice ride with a shit engine." She remarked, meeting Arcturus's line of sight. Her gaze still very present despite the obvious uselessness of her sight. Approaching the bike, her fingers hovered over what was sure to be a strikingly clean paint job, trying to minimize her excitement. She skimmed the side crouching down to examine the engine. No doubt this speeder was worth more than the entire garage, her included.

"Did you ride this out the factory?" She joked, almost in equal disbelief how it managed to give out. Her fingers brushed near the coughing engine, clearly a repulsorlift from the low hum of energy emitting from it. "Might be defective, it sounds over-strained," she offered, focused in. "Wasn't able to take the power output of whatever speed you were going." Turning to address Arcturus directly she gave him a contemplative look, "I could probably wire some older models together to replace it."

She figured he'd take that as an unsatisfactory answer, not wanting to give lower grade material even the slight chance at inhibiting his ride. Expecting him to scoff and turn to trudge that thing all the way back to whatever surface level he fell from. But considering the obvious strain he was under she wondered if that was even possible. Tamiko straightened, looking at him expectantly.

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

He'd pissed off the man, that much was obvious, but all Arcturus had asked was to not be played for a fool so he wouldn't feel bad for that. Not even remotely. Instead he watched as the cigarra was put out on the workbench, and looked the man unflinchingly in the face even as he tried to stare him down. In response to his prejudiced statement, the boy extended one hand out. Intent on shaking on it, in fact. A man was only as good as his word, after all, and a shaken hand was a bound deal in his eyes.​

​

Whether or not the mechanic shook his hand he was soon enough introduced to the girl in the back, the one whose eyes were milky yet somehow still retained the impact of a gaze. There was something about her; he'd felt her sensitivity in the Force almost immediately. For one such as he who was so often deeply enveloped by it, it had become somewhat of an unconscious habit of his to take note of such in those he came across.​

​

Most of the time nothing. Or just a limited glint which had never been given the chance to shine. Potential, nothing more. But she exhibited more than that.​

​

He ignored it, retracting from such thoughts as soon as they appeared. Arcturus was no recruiter, he was not the sort to whisk someone away from their already busy lives to thrust them into some path not of their own making. Let her carry on in ignorance, he said, let her simply exist.​

​

Clearly in his momentary thoughts he'd missed some sort of exchange between the two for her humoured countenance had been wicked away into obscurity. Instead she seemed to be doing her best to remain professional, whatever the feth that meant.​

​

Her opening line, at least in so far as was directed to Arcturus specifically, had him raising both brows. For a moment he regarded her, and their surroundings, before offering up just a languid shrug of his shoulders. "I didn't," he stated plainly, resting one hand atop the bike as he said it. It hadn't been his money which paid for it, after all, but she didn't need to know that. ​

​

"Sounds like it, doesn't it?" he retorted just as swiftly as before, and with the grumpy mechanic out of the shop the tension in the air seemed to drop a little. There was curiosity in this one, he noted it almost immediately. Questions unasked bubbling away beneath the surface. Arcturus knew that all too well, though more recently he'd taken to simply divulging in that want for knowledge. To following the threads where they led. ​

​

To her next question he could not help but chuckle. "I might as well have," a nod she could not see accompanied the words of affirmation. He watched her as she timidly reached out, appearing somewhat afraid to touch it. Or was that anticipation he saw? Bated breath as she cherished the moment. "You can touch it," he said, with just the slightest tone of bewilderment, "In fact, I reckon it'd be hard for you to do your job without."​

​

She hadn't been waiting for his permission to do so though, because even as he spoke she began to inspect the beast. He allowed his hands to settle into the pockets of his trousers, momentarily taken aback by the lack of holes he'd come to expect on the inside. The wonders of a fresh set of clothes...​

​

The boy remained silent as she gave her prognosis, and longer once she'd finished. Contemplating his options. A long sigh was emitted from his nose, before he shook his head. "Can't you fix what's already there?" he inquired of her, going so far as to crouch down to get a good look at it himself. Contrary to how he may have appeared to them, he was more at home with his hands dirty and dabbling at projects with seemingly no end to them. Vehicles were out of his general ballpark, of course, he couldn't claim to know all that much about them.​

​

But that didn't stop the tinkerer inherent within him from wanting to see what she saw all the same.​

​

"I don't mind if it takes a little longer to do. Or if you have to order in some parts to keep her intact, just as she is." He fumbled for the wallet in his suit pocket, and pulled out a card Maliphant had left for him. Apparently he hadn't wanted his Apprentice to keep skittering around in the dirt; he supposed he couldn't blame the man, it would reflect oh so poorly on him after all if anyone knew of their connection.​

​

He stuck her with a gaze similar to that he'd given the mechanic. "I'll pay for it all upfront, provided you're honest about their necessity." He leaned in a little closer, voice dropping a few octaves so that only she could hear him. "I'll know if you lie to me."​

​

Tamiko Sabo ​

 

[Tamiko Sabo]

Surprisingly compromising? Now that wasn't what she was expecting.

The boy seemed negotiable, void of the pompous arrogance she pegged him to at least somewhat have. She found his requests tame, words she could see herself saying. That only drew her into more questions about who this guy was outside of their brief interaction. He seemed like the person who could establish himself, well attuned to the moralities of the underworld and how to navigate them. It made her half-wonder, is this all familiar to him?

She shifted slightly at his indirect comment on her blindness, not out of discomfort but mild surprise. Though it was a well justified remark it was equally candid. It took a lot of breaking perceptions to build any sort of reputation here, stifling through years of questions concerning her capabilities. But if Tamiko had ever been good at anything it was adapting. She seemed to have a spatial awareness she couldn't credit to being entirely natural. Almost as if she could feel rather than see the existence of things. Deeper interference by something she couldn't name. It didn't make up for her disadvantage by any means, but it made things a degree easier.


“I'll know if you lie to me.”


Those words felt deeper than the surface level threat they appeared to be. It didn’t strike her as some hardened vagabond's intimidation tactics but pure honesty. Another flare up of that feeling of awareness fled her senses, this time lingering. Admittedly her only knowledge of force sensitivity came from cryptic rumors living as whispers on the street. That and the fairy tale level of reimagined Jedi and Sith stories, saturated until only key points of intrigue remained. Out of the powers they wielded, the most wildly construed had to be telepathy.

Her suspicion exacerbated, she shifted trying to clear the mental fog wrapping her mind. So maybe he had a couple tricks of his sleeve, that wasn't remotely her concern. She didn't plan to scam him out his money, and he’d been flatly honest to this point. They were on the same page so to speak.

That didn't stop her wondering for a fleeting moment if she was looking into some twisted future. Not that she had an even surface level understanding of what connection to the force she possessed or the ramifications present. Still there was an instant of hunger. A desire to unpack this secret spiraling in her. That and the mystery of this newcomer.

Really, who was he?

Forcing herself back into the moment she shook the weight of the thought. Doesn't matter.

In response to his words she nodded, exhaling a laugh through her nose, “You can relax, I won't try anything.” She tried to brush the comment off casually but something under her skin felt unnerved.

Then taking a moment to mull over the other's input she continued. “It might be a stretch, I can't tell how much of the engine is totally fried yet.” She tilted her head, examining the repulsorlift with her hands, searching for a loose valve, anything to confirm the damage. “How about a partial replacement?,“ She broke the silence out of compromise, not bothering to look over at Arcturus who was sure to be doing his own examination. Couldn't blame him for being paranoid.

“Looks like the coolant pipe cracked. The system overheated.” She swiveled slightly to face Arcturus. The action made her thoughts latent with curiosity resurface and have to be forced right back down. “Need to scrap a few pipes and the engine radiator.” She noted looking over the speeder before turning her attention to Arcturus to say, "That's not debatable,” adopting the same tone he'd taken up.

“I honestly doubt we’d be able to order exact parts.” She stood up with finality in her voice, she didn't even recognize the model, the expense was so foreign to her. “That is unless you happen to have the manufacturer on dial.” The expression in her voice suggested she was joking but for all Tamiko knew that wasn't an outlandish statement. He looked like a guy with deep connections. To everything but high-end speeder maintenance apparently.

“Look, we have replacement parts in the back you can take a look at. Probably end up costing roughly 350 credits.” That was no doubt affordable to him to the point it almost felt weird to say. She knew the speeder was driven far enough into the bay to dissuade any serious attempts at theft, that and the worker outside stood as a permanent fixture to the garage. It didn't feel overtly risky to take a moment and search for parts.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

She had been quick to rebut his whispered promise with one of her own, and though his expression and demeanor shifted to one of amusement his eyes temporarily hardened. "I know you won't" came his statement of response, that unwavering gaze remaining upon her for just a few seconds longer before he returned to his own mini assessment of the bike. A foolish endeavor, given his lack of expertise, but maybe one which would prove fruitful in the end. Teach him a thing or two about what to look for in the future.​

​

That curiosity continued to radiate from the girl, and he caught brief snatches of her attention upon him between her surveying. In turn, Arcturus deeply wished for even a glimpse of what was happening inside her mind, a taste of the thoughts she was holding back. What would she ask if there was not an air of professionalism to be had? What would she wish to know if not for the weight of their differing dynamic.​

​

An offer for compromise was made instead. A partial replacement, she'd said. Should push come to shove, he supposed that would have to do. It wasn't wholly satisfactory, it meant he would in fact have to inform his contacts with the IGBC of what had happened here upon his return, but those were the breaks. In hindsight perhaps he ought to have called someone. Perhaps he should have had the bike brought back to the factory, to be given a fresh engine, or to be scrapped down for parts and replaced with an even newer one.​

​

That would have made more sense. Arcturus hadn't been known for his sense lately, though. In the moment he'd simply wanted the matter dealt with, without further bothering Darth Empyrean any more than he already had. It wasn't too late to do that, of course. Wasn't too late to pull out the brand new commlink from his pocket, protective stickers still attached, and call up... Someone. Anyone else.​

​

Gaze shifted momentarily back to the girl, a glance so subtle and brief he doubted she'd notice. Then, when her final verdict was given, he was moving to a stand, huffing out a sigh at the effort of returning to his full height. Down went a hand, extended toward her, to enable her to do the same without as much strain. Should she choose to take it, of course. The other was carefully placed back into his trouser pocket. He left the commlink where it was; he'd already made his choice.​

​

Pipes and engine radiator. He nodded his head, even chuckled some to the tone she'd taken with him, and pondered just a little further when she lamented their inability to get the exact parts. "Alright, why don't we see what you've got already?" he inquired, at least at first, brushing past even the comment about having the manufacturer on speed dial. The thought hadn't even occurred to him yet, wouldn't occur to him even until the topic of cost arose.​

​

He'd made to follow her into the back then, and still planned on doing so, but both brows rose and he gave her an odd look. 350 credits? That was nothing. Even stuck on the streets playing parlour tricks Arcturus could have scrounged that amount up in a pinch, if he'd had the right kind of audience to enamor with his act. By this point they were likely already nearing the back room.​

​

"I mean... That could be arranged. Truth be told we could probably see about getting the whole engine replaced, factory fresh." Yes, definitely not something he'd considered until the low price had been pitched. It might take a little bit longer, they'd have to send it down here with courier, but...​

​

She'd been joking, of course. She hadn't actually been expecting him to have the ability to call them up. And she was right, he couldn't, but he definitely knew who could. And that was just as good as anything...​

​

Tamiko Sabo ​

 

[Tamiko Sabo]

“I know you won't.”

Tamiko picked up on the certainty injected in his voice. Was that trust? Or maybe just a shrouded apology, trying to backpedal from the perceived weight of his previous statement. Tamiko pressed forward before she found herself snagged on another web. If she over-analyzed every vague threat and contradiction that came her way she’d wage war on her brain.

Instead she gave a calculated nod, appearing to be only half aware of what Arcturus was saying and infinitely more invested in the bike. Pinching her chin between her thumb and knuckle she gave a final survey of the speeder, working something out in her head as Arcturus shifted beside her. The movement brought her out of the shell of focus she’d equipped to give room for her thoughts. A second later she processed Arcturus had gotten up sensing his hand extended towards her as an invitation to do the same. She debated on whether to accept the offer for no real reason she could name. What point was she was hoping to make, I can do it myself? It wasn't like he was condescending. It wasn't like she needed to prove herself.

So she accepted, bringing herself up with a look of acknowledgment.

“Sure thing.” She nodded in response to Arcturus’s request. Rolling her shoulder back habitually as she moved towards the storage room's doorway.
The backroom was deceivingly large, shelves well stacked with organized miscellanea. Some parts were very apparently bought but the majority were well-maintained salvage projects. She pushed ahead somewhat surprised with how smoothly everything had gone. Which seemingly summoned Arcturus to voice his thoughts around a new arrangement. Something about a factory fresh engine.

Tamiko paused at this revelation and quirked an eyebrow at Arcturus,“ Oh?” was the only reply she could muster in the moment, she hadn't missed with her semi-sarcastic comment it seemed.

Full of surprises huh?

“I can work with that.” she decided,” If you can somehow arrange it?” She gave a full reply after a moment elapsed, ending her sentence with a question not prompting if that was possible for Arcturus, but where in the world he had found the connections to make it happen.

“More credits and time.” She followed up with a verbal acknowledgment of what she was sure Arcturus had already accepted. The money wasn't an issue, just a couple more credits out his wallet, but why spend an extra hour or two in the underworld?

A slight disturbance sounded from the foyer they'd only left a moment ago. It could've been mistaken for some tool left teetering on the edge of a workbench finally giving into gravity, but it still caused Tamiko to pause if only for a second.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Somehow, and rather unexpectedly, Arcturus had found himself almost taking charge of the situation in the garage. They had each risen at his timing, the girl going so far as to take his offered hand though part of him had expected her to reject it outright, and it was at his prompting that they sequestered so readily to the backroom where the inventory lay. Her idea, of course, she'd been the one to bring it up, but he'd pushed them into action.​

​

So often he'd been the inactive party, following after the whims of another. Perhaps this was all part of the refresh he'd been given the rights to and was working toward. Maybe this was who Arcturus truly was, deep inside, when all of the fog was pushed away, and the only expectations which remained were the ones he placed upon himself.​

​

Maliphant had not left him with any tasks or duties to follow. For the first time in his life, Arcturus was free to pursue as he pleased. It was... invigorating. Overwhelming, even, but not unwanted. The card he'd previously taken from his pocket was returned, saved for later, and in the same breath the commlink was plucked free. As fresh as the bike, though without the apparent imperfections of a busted engine.​

​

More unaired questions hung between them, following her money and time statement. He turned his attention from the comm to her, and for a moment allowed the curiosity he'd been repressing to show upon the surface. He surveyed her for any sign of the same, any minor showing that she had more going on within the confines of her mind than she let loose. And in doing so he gleaned something of a query right from her unmoving lips.​

​

Why. That was what he pulled from her, without rightly meaning to. Why was so often the first question which came to the mind of many, a desire to better understand. "I can arrange it," he stated, mulling over how best to deal with the unspoken question. Part of him wondered if the mechanic had not initially interfered with her - some might argue - less than agreeable countenance, whether those questions would have surfaced by now. Whether she'd have seen fit to speak her mind.​

​

Mentally, he cursed the man for it. Then threw caution to the wind.​

​

"You look at me as though you've a thousand questions relaying within your mind," he stated, lips pressing into a thin line of thoughtful consideration. "Aren't you even the least bit curious of what my responses might be?"​

​

A brief pause, wherein she might have said something back, before the clattering came from beyond the door. Though the girl might have given it only a moment of concerned pause, Arcturus' senses immediately pulled him from his assessment of the girl to the door. He had it open in a heartbeat, yet if the girl was paying attention it swung inward long before his boots reached its location, and then out into the garage proper he ventured.​

​

Something was wrong... Something was very much wrong.​

​

Tamiko Sabo ​

 

[Tamiko Sabo]

Coruscant was populated with hazardous information, minefields woven into every indistinct whisper on the street. Sticking your nose in places it didn’t belong was a leading cause of death. That meant keeping out of people's lives was a safe card to play, and keeping people out of yours was basic security.

But curiosity is an admittedly hard fire to put out.

She looked back at Arcturus, her eyebrows raised in unison. It took her a second to reel in the expression on her face, wondering if she’d been wearing her thoughts so openly this entire time. Who wouldn't be curious. She had a creeping suspicion his offer didn't come with the full extent of answers.

Why are you dressed like some business mogul when the nearest casino’s 5 levels up?

Why not ship your wrecked speeder up a few flights to your topsider friends? What’s there to hide?

What about you is so off.

“I could start with your name.” was the response she decided on. A ghost of the words formed around her lips, but she lost the grounds to voice it as soon as Arcturus' attention was redirected. Her reaction lagged a second behind him, struck with a new sense of apprehension, shit.

The door swung in, out of sync with his footsteps as if it just opened. She definitely wasn't given the time to examine that now. Parallel to Arcturus, she felt the now gaping absence that occupied the space originally meant for the speeder. Feet planted exactly where the bike had been moments ago, a quiet “kark” slipped from her lips.

Some mixture of panic and anger bubbled deep in her throat as she turned to Arcturus, “Why the hell did you have to parade a big ‘come rob me’ sign down here.” It was a reflex, a statement void of critical thinking. She wasn’t given the time to regret it. Though in the back of her mind she saw the blame landed squarely on her. That wasn’t her one ticket out of here, it was his. Least she could have done was put a tarp over it.

The garage was relatively unscathed and matched the description of a discrete robbery. She inhaled in an attempt to focus met with a complete absence of smoke. Another “kark” pressed against her lips, this time more deliberate.

Nearly leaping over a table on her way to the overhead doors she had to physically grab the steel barrier between the entrance to stop from hurling into a civilian. Pausing a moment her suspicions were confirmed, No shop keep, only a cigar stomped out on the cement. An engine revved out on the street, somehow coerced into being functional.

The moments jutted from one to the next, a compilation of slowly processing how deep of shit she was in. Barely a second elapsed before she barked. “Let’s go,” booking it out the garage without hesitation.

She didn’t care who he happened to be for the time being, as long as he was fast.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

He caught her off guard, as he rightfully knew he would. Though she was quick to rein in her expression, he had seen it plain as day. Just as curious as he, then, if not more so; he nodded in appreciation to that momentarily shared trait.​

​

A second, just a second, was all that was afforded to them in the aftermath. One question rose above all others to formulate upon her lips, though when uttered he was already set into motion. Out of the backroom, into the garage, her words barely graced his ears at all. And he barely saw fit to grace her with a response.​

​

It was gone. Of course it was gone.​

​

And so too was the shopkeeper.​

​

Rage, white hot and blinding, spiked within him. Somewhere just out of sight something made of glass popped under the strain of it, and the very air seemed filled with static as he seethed.​

​

Arcturus had shaken on it. A deal had been made... A physical tremor overtook him before he realized what was happening. He ignored her when first she uttered a curse, for a moment it was as though she didn't exist within his universe at all.​

​

But then she had to go and run her mouth.​

​

He rounded on her then, normally tempered eyes ablaze. Stuck her with a very serious and accusatory glare that was meant to pin her in place. Was she in on this? Was this whole thing just some karking scam?​

​

It was through gritted teeth that he next spoke, and it was an obvious strain which gripped him as he tried to hold back the flow of darkness which sought to bubble on up to the point of exploding. As he held himself back. From her.​

​

"I want his name" the man spat, all of the composure he'd shown thus far melting away. Only the smallest amount remained, only the smallest amount stayed his hand. "We had a deal. He broke it."​

​

Her question, that question which had broken the valve of his patience, still thrummed around in his mind.​

​

"Next time someone breaks down two paces from your fething garage, turn them the feth away, won't you?" There it was, bright as day, the sole reason he'd come to them in the first place. Convenience. That he had blown his engine outside of this mechanic, in this part of Coruscant, was simply happenstance.​

​

That he'd been conned out of a bike that had barely been turned over into his possession was meditated.​

​

His gaze dropped away from her, freeing her up for all the movement she desired, when the thrum of a sickened engine backfired not too far away. She had also moved into action, admittedly a second ahead of him, and he followed after her whether or not she'd given him the information he'd so blatantly demanded.​

​

Out into the street, where passersby ambled on leisurely without a care in the world. He followed her on hastened steps, and not even the curt and chilly breeze could cut through his seething ruminations.​

​

Even so, despite all he had said and directed her way, Arcturus had the distinct feeling that she was not in fact in on it. Call it a hunch; the boy had learned well when to trust his gut.​

​

Tamiko Sabo ​

 

[Tamiko Sabo]

The moment shit hit the fan, it felt harder to breathe. Rippling through the air was some indiscernible vortex of emotion spawning from where Arcturus stood, seething. Someone else's fury overwhelmed her in torrents of succession, every bit as intense as what she pictured the look on Arcturus's face to be. Stranded, momentarily incapacitated it felt like more than her own shock was keeping her in place. Until whatever disembodied claws let go of their grip on her, she felt powerless.

Final question
What the hell was that?

The rising anxiety pounding her mind was flushed out by adrenaline. Run. That's all she felt was in her capacity to do. Run or be subjected to whatever pressure was on the brink of spilling over. Just to collapse under it like a dead bird.

Something about that possibility sparked some own sickened animosity in her. The thought she possessed so much weakness, that she was easy to break and cave in made her cringe. The atmosphere that had erupted was now infectious, seeping into her doubts and numbing them. Her expression hardened, sealing the leaks of fear she'd been wracked with moments before.

She directed her thoughts to the moment. Rich boy was pissed. Gathered that.

If she was in his shoes, she'd find herself to be remarkably incriminating. But staying there to plead her innocence felt like wasted breath. Nothing about what had just happened put the thought in her head Arcturus remotely trusted her, still she had to push forward.

Letting out an internal slew of cuss words she turned to the exit.

Time to get that damned bike.

The demands targeted at her, laced with malice, barely registered in her ears as she made a straight shot out the garage.

Her feet struck the pavement one after the other, spewing up gravel as Arcturus's words finally caught up with her.

"Vaj doesn't make deals." She yelled over her shoulder, voice strained from exertion. “And will you just focus?" she bit back on his latter comment.

Controlling her breath she narrowly managed to dodge pedestrian after pedestrian occasionally forcing her way between people.

The speeder blazed its path forward not taking any precautions for the sake of being subtle, forcing those on the street to dive out of its path.

Though Arcturus was sure to be close behind maybe even succeeding her at this point. Her focus was solely divulged on the speeder. Neon lights coursed through the block, saturating their path as the only source of brightness.

A surge of something fed by her fear and emotions coursed through her. Senses honed in on the bike she pulled on nothing but the air in front of her, the action subconscious.

The bike reacted coming to a halt and skidding the pavement, chipping at the paint job as friction built. The worker was almost bucked off in response but managed to maintain his grip disoriented only for a moment before recovering and launching the speeder off down an alley.

It could've been mistaken for the engine sputtering.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

Could have been mistaken for the engine sputtering in the eyes of anyone else; likely was. ​

​

But for the one who hurried on behind the girl and witnessed it unfolding first hand, for the one who felt the tremulous tendrils of the Force reaching out to grasp at something around the bike, it was not.​

​

He'd hastened his step ever since she took to the pavement, pushing past strangers in the street in an effort to match her pace. As agile as one another, ducking and weaving between the pedestrians, but she'd had the first step, so she remained ahead. Now, witnessing what he had, he was glad to be at her back.​

​

Glad to have seen confirmation of what he'd already known to be true.​

​

It didn't matter right now though. Quite frankly it shouldn't have mattered to Arcturus at all. So the blind mechanic could touch upon the Force in moments of strife, so what? It was none of his business. He would not make it his business.​

​

And yet already he knew that he had. Just by noticing it. Just by feeling that curiosity rising up within him, insatiable as ever. The act of it made him contemplate forsaking the bike all together. Let Vaj have his stolen vehicle, let the IGBC catch up with him - which they inevitably would.​

​

Even as he thought it, he took note of the girl's continued motions. The bike may have temporarily ground to a halt, but she hadn't. "Sithspit" he spat, under his breath, kicking up further dust and gravel from the ground as he hurried to keep up. He'd slowed at her unexpected use of the Force, but no longer.​

​

She'd chosen to keep chasing, so he'd follow suit. Even as he did though he snapped open the commlink and punched in some digits he'd forced himself to memorize before leaving the hotel suite. With the slightest sign of straining, panting breaths between his words, he explained the situation to the individual on the other side.​

​

Gave a name, a description, of the man responsible; they didn't need the bike's details, they had that already. "We've got him" the voice on the other side muttered, no doubt having pinged some tracking device. "We'll have someone on the street to intercept him shortly. Do not enga--"​

​

Arcturus cut the call. Do not engage. Yeah, right, tell that to the girl who was pulling further away from him by the second. Don't engage...​

​

Bah.​

​

His brand new leather boots clacked against the pavement. It was becoming harder to spy her through the crowd. "Feth it" he muttered, before he reached out through the Force and honed in on her presence. It was stronger now than it had been in the shop, no doubt due to her recent flexing of otherwise unused muscles.​

​

Arcturus bridged a connection between them, and provided he wasn't met with any natural resistances that often came down to heritage he'd project his voice into her mind.​

​

Meet me at the next corner, he instructed her, trying to glean any surface level emotions she might have in response to the intrusion. Any words she might try to bite back into her mind, if she was feeling up to the task of trying. Most weren't. Too surprised by the act of having someone else's voice in their head. We can't outrun a speeder.​

​

Well... Together they couldn't. If he'd really, truly, deeply wanted to, Arcturus could have made like Grundark and pulled some Force Body bullchit, amplified his speed; that wasn't really his kind of thing, though. Didn't come to him more naturally than the more metaphysical applications of the Darkside. ​

​

Maybe if he hadn't gotten hold of the Clan he'd have given it a shot. But he had, so he didn't.​

​

Tamiko Sabo ​

 

[Tamiko Sabo]

Tamiko's chest rose and fell from rapid inhales, her feet driven into the ground watching the speeder slip further away. Her mind scoured through places to cut him off, for some wall to back him into, some bike left abandoned on road she could actually close the distance with. It took a second to strike her as an absurd idea. Right can't drive.

Before she launched further into a dense crowd of people something invaded her awareness unapologetically. Tendrils of the force tying her to some point behind her. Instinctively her caution spiked.

His presence was amplified, demanding recognition in her mind. Immediately put on defense, her nerves were left suspended, trying to withdraw from the sensation out of self-preservation. Only for her to process a second later the absence of any actual danger.

Then he began talking, or more like thinking.

She hadn't been prepared to combat such an intangible action and almost slid to a halt by the suddenty of it. Out of alarm she tried to resurrect some semblance of mental shields, fighting the ease at which her mind had been exposed, frustrated at her vulnerability.

You're in my head

It was realization she'd meant to keep to herself unwittingly testing the loose string she now found connecting her and Arcturus.

His words grazed by her, overridden by the method of delivery. Deep fascination surfaced briefly warping her thoughts and minimizing her immediate recoil. How are you doing this?

Another moment past before his words meant anything to her. Seemingly spent debating what to make of this development. He'd said to meet at the corner. The vague implications of a plan resonating with his words.

Knowing she didn't have many options to exercise she left out an irritated exhale. Though she didn't directly reply, a sense of affirmation flooded the link, as she skidded to a stop, nearly rounding the corner.

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

He felt the shock and horror flash through her mind as his voice intruded there, witnessed her pitiful attempts at throwing up what constituted as mere impressions of a shield; Arcturus was honestly impressed. She was quick on the draw, quick to try and find a way to combat it. The fear was replaced almost in totality, fascination bubbling up instead.​

​

Through the space between them, the man smiled. His pace fell to something more akin to a hastened walk, instead of a run, while he weaved between the crowd and considered all which had been revealed to him in so few moments, so few actions and phrases. Her question brought humour from within him, humour she'd no doubt sense some sort of impression of.​

​

The same way you are, he retorted to the voice, though of course that was an oversimplification and rather dismissive statement to make. She wasn't holding up the connection, she was merely leeching off it. Speaking into her own mind, not his, sure, but with such conviction that he had no trouble hearing what it was she wanted to say. No easy feat for a first timer.​

​

Despite the necessity no longer being present, given her affirmation of his request, Arcturus found himself unwilling to break the bridge he'd formed. To cut the connection and wait until he met up with her to further explain. He didn't say anything more to her, didn't put that bridge to proper use, yet as he approached the next corner, where he hoped to find her, he used it as something of a grounds to push and pry and test the levels of her comfortability with it all.​

​

Would she keep pressing back? Would she try once more to cast him out? His curiosity was out there for her to see now, untamed and hungry it wanted answers to questions he did not yet bother to pose. Fascinating, this girl was. Simply... Fascinating.​

​

He saw her in the distance, and picked up his pace to hasten their reunion. When he came to a halt a few feet shy of her, he once again held her in his sights. Studied her anew, as though in their brief time apart she had changed into something different. All at once the connection between them was cut, and he tipped his head into the slightest of bows of greeting.​

​

"You stopped," he stated, both surprised and satisfied to learn that even under the weird conditions he'd asked it of her she'd complied. Pulling out his commlink, he snapped it open then closed once to gesticulate. "I made a call. They'll find him before we do." His previously stern expression, the one he'd exhibited back in the shop, had softened in the time it had taken them to reach this spot in the street. He pondered for a moment what would happen to Vaj. Just as quickly, he realized it wasn't the shopkeep he even remotely concerned about.​

​

"Where they take this is out of my hands," he explained, commlink now back within his pocket. A frown, just the faintest signs of it, creased his brow. What would happen to her if the man faced incarceration? ... What would happen if his body washed up in some darkened alleyway?​

​

Arcturus glanced over his shoulder, at a spot in the distance that wasn't actually within his view. Then he sighed. Slower this time, more carefully so that she could take the time to process what it was he was doing, he bridged that mental gap between them once more. Somethings were best not said into a crowded street.​

​

I know what you did; to the bike. He turned back toward her as he spoke into her mind. The question is, do you understand what it was?​

​

Tamiko Sabo ​

 

[Tamiko Sabo]

Recovering from the initial impact of sharing her subconscious, his response to the question she hadn't deliberately asked sent another wave of electricity her way. What he meant by that statement was lost to her.

She fought to suppress the indiscernible thoughts surging through the back of her mind, each lashing out for attention. At this point, unaware what the full extent of Arcturus's reach in her mind could be, it was a safe wager to be guarded. Unsettled but fighting to reclaim composure, she steadied herself. She steadied herself instead of recoiling from the bond and slinking into the security of solitary thought. Some motive buried in her subconscious prevented her from backing down on such foreign terf. Compelling her to sacrifice safety for a small glimpse of understanding.

She didn't want to appear weak to him. Keen to make sense of whatever game he was playing so she could hopefully analyze his moves.

Just like that the thread was severed, Arcturus's footsteps drawing near. Regarding him with unrestrained speculation, her gaze bore into him. As if with that single action he would oblige and reveal every secret Tamiko now felt strangled in.

Opening her mouth to demand more than the one vague retort he had given her, Arcturus beat her to the punch with an opening line that gave her equal pause. She had stopped, didn't put up a fight but complied, something uncharacteristic of her. In that moment she had trusted Arcturus to know more than her.

Her spine was replaced by a metal rod at Arcturus's next words.

The phrase "They'll?" formed on her lips. If he had meant police, he would have said it. Who did he have in his back pocket that somehow had the power to deal with a carjacking in the depths of Coruscant on beck and call?

'It's out of my hands' quickly followed. Around here the implications of those kind of words were grave. She read Arcturus's statement as a superficial disclaimer, some half-hearted attempt to remove blame.

"What's going to happen to him?" She demanded despite Arcturus suggesting he wouldn't have the answer. Admittedly Vaj wasn't important to her, more fulfilling the role of an irritable landlord she put up with on the regular. Still he'd been the one to give her a job, in essence, her room and board.

A certain image came to mind, a tiny loft squeezed above the garage, clearly a repurposed storage room but not the worst offer you could get down here. She found it a stiff place to live, opting to spend most of her time out on the streets, a place to fill her mind with something other than dust and cobwebs. But suddenly even that seemed to slip from her hands. She didn't have the credentials to keep running the garage if Vaj was behind bars or infinitely worse off. Maybe that was something she had to part with. She gave Arcturus a look as if trying to unlock some answer lying beneath his surface. He didn't know how to give a straightforward response did he?

Again she almost pushed for more information, but the gradual re-ignition of their bond grounded her. Whisks of the force slowly entwined, strengthening the bridge between them for conscious thought to flow. She looked up at Arcturus slightly taken aback at how intentional he'd been. Unable to dwell on it for long however as his next line completely redirected her thoughts.

Did she understand what it was?

She had lived with it all her life but the answer was still unquestionably no.

A moment elapsed where she just stared at Arcturus before giving her definite answer.

No

But she knew very well what it felt like. Having ever so slightly changed the universe to work in her direction, time and time again. It was unstable, something she could access occasionally but never rely on. Still, it'd been the one constant she carried through her life. Some mystery twisting in her that she couldn't remotely identify until he came. The person whose name she didn't even have yet who somehow had the potential to redirect her life. After a moment of deliberation she responded.

But you do

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

So many questions the girl didn't ask. So many he felt foaming up within her. He wanted them to come to light, he wanted to answer them and see where they led, see where she led, but he couldn't if she didn't voice them.​

​

Ironic then that the first question she did utter was one he casually overlooked. One which looked to find out more about the entity he'd summoned to the streets of Coruscant in search of his stolen vehicle. It was as though she had never uttered it at all, he didn't even look her way when it was spoken. The second though... The second brought about just a shrug at first.​

​

"That depends," he stated, and at first he thought that was all he'd say on the matter. But he could feel her eyes boring into him, longing for more than just the barest snippets of information. Longing for the room to ask and be responded to in truth. Maybe then he could give her just a taste, open up the gates she'd come so close to opening. He set his gaze upon her, and considered her expression a moment longer. How honest should he be?​

​

Not honest enough that he'd be seen as complicit should his body actually wash up in an alleyway, that was for certain.​

​

"Look, kid, - Tamiko, was it?" He knew it was, "- I really don't know. I've never called them before. I was avoiding it, actually, that's why I dragged the damn bike into your shop rather than sending out for recovery. Depends on how he reacts. Depends on if he cooperates." A sigh left him then, and he half expected her to bolt. She stood her ground instead. Stuck him with a look of her own, one which demanded answers. But the questions still had not come.​

​

If only she could have seen the look he gave her back. He was practically goading her on, pushing her into activeness. Just ask he wanted to scream. Instead he breached her mind once more.​

​

Surprise made a home of her face once more, only this time it was not the act itself which brought it about. He could sense her shock at the slow rebridging, at the way in which he had taken his time to ensure she was comfortable with it all. In truth that response spoke a lot more about her, and her circumstances, than it did him. The slightest hint of a frown overcame him, though even with their minds melded he did a good job of covering up whatever emotion had been attached to it.​

​

That connection gave rise to a response, one which only really was present within her mind but loud enough for him to hear it plainly. Certainly louder than it had been before. She was trying, trying to communicate back in a conscious way. A good first step, but a first step all the same. He gestured for her to follow, and if she made to move with him he'd begin to walk back the way they had come. No running this time, not even a hastened step. Leisurely. Some might argue too leisurely.​

​

Head turned toward her just the slightest amount as she called him out. In response he nodded once.​

​

I do, he agreed, hands casually finding their place within his trouser pockets. Though tone was not necessarily differentiated within their headspace, his presence took on almost a teacherly role. He didn't notice it himself at first, of course, it was just inherent in the way he projected such thoughts to her. That wasn't the first time something like that has happened to you, or around you, is it? He didn't let the question linger long, already knowing it to be so, before he pressed on.​

​

Perhaps it's more common when you're angry, or scared, or even excited. Or maybe deep down you've come to realize that you're able to manipulate it in some fashion, force fate to deal you a slightly better hand? If the latter were the case, she hadn't aimed very high. But maybe that was a calculated decision. Measured, even. Mess with fate too eagerly and you'd find a lot of heads turning.​

​

Subtlety was key... At least in the beginning. At least while control was still a difficult factor to master.​

​

You have within you unmatched potential, the man stated, as plainly as he could, The ability to turn not only your own tides, but others. To influence the very world around you, and those within it. A second's pause. As with the case of the bike.​

​

He wasn't paying physical attention to where they were headed, head turned toward her as it was, but he was still walking in the correct direction. His senses had spread out, clutching at the wretched landscape they walked within, acting as a second set of eyes. His true ones were watching her for any expression she held, for any hints she might give as to what she was thinking beyond what she projected to him.​

​

There was much and more he longed to add, but he knew that she was likely to have questions... And Arcturus was willing her to ask them.​

​

Tamiko Sabo ​

 

[Tamiko Sabo]

Arcturus's response didn't help deconstruct the mystery surrounding him. If anything it convoluted him further. But chasing that thread felt momentarily insignificant when he launched into what felt almost like a lecture under the cover of their connection. Laying out her experience so plainly. Addressing the thoughts she'd struggled to fathom with experience and guidance, easily unweaving them.

She lagged a second behind Arcturus, feet rooted in spot as something in her eyes sharpened. I have a question. The words were still testing the fabric of the bond but slowly creeped to match the level of authority Arcturus had captured in his dialogue. Who the hell are you? Her remark landed with more certainty this time. The first drip out of a hazardous dam. She tried to deliver force behind the words. It was defensive, an attempt to mask the vulnerability surfacing and regain a semblance of control.

But everything Arcturus had said in his lecture of encouragement outlined the control she wielded, however loose and sporadic it was. He hadn't seized total authority of the moment, practically handing her the reigns to drive the conversation. She didn't brush that realization aside even if she was slow to come to it at first.

And what is- she gestured vaguely upwards, finding no words to describe what she was experiencing. This? Manipulation? The edge softened in her voice, replaced with curiosity as she echoed Arcturus's word choice. Was this even possible? Something within her reach to achieve if she only channeled her ability right. She began to follow after Arcturus, keeping pace.

She paused only a moment, seeming to hear herself.

I can levitate a plate on a good day, not seize someone's mind. The comment was shallow, retracting from the openness starting to filter through. Another step in the wrong direction but that's often how it goes when you're set on a new path. She wasn't capable of whatever witchcraft he was pulling. From her words, it was easy to see she'd come to that conclusion rapidly. But still temptation stirred in her. What if you were.

She couldn't shake the assumption that, despite being years apart in experience, the kind of life she lived wasn't unfamiliar to him.

Where'd you learn to? The first question void of any caution. I mean- She briefly staggered as she searched for words, hand reaching to scratch the back of her neck as she kept up with him. I've never met anyone with even a baseline understanding of it. And now you're- A frustrated sigh was loosed from her lips, finding it impossible to articulate her thoughts. Chit, you're literally in my head, what's your explanation for that? It's like you tapped into my subconscious just to start a conversation about the weather.

She blinked after the words were out turning towards Arcturus as realization awoke on her face.

Can I do it back?

Arcturus Dinn

 

[Arcturus Dinn]

And there it was.​

​

The dam broke, spilling forth a steady stream of questions and considerations, and it was glorious. Where earlier rage seemed to radiate from within the very core of the man, when the first question was posed - however curt she had been, however basic the query - satisfaction now reigned supreme. Satisfaction and pride. It blossomed from within him, and though his mouth did not stretch to smile his eyes were alight with one all the same.​

​

My name is Arcturus, he began, no care in the world as thinking up some sort of pseudonym. Perhaps she had meant to ask for more than a name, perhaps she had sought information more akin to what he was, but that was not the question she had posed. She would learn very quickly that in teachable moments such as this one, Arcturus could be somewhat of a stickler for the way in which things were presented. And if you must make utterance of that most dreadful place, at least see fit to call it by its true name. For it is Chaos, most insufferable pit of the Netherrealms.​

​

Okay... So perhaps most insufferable was a little overkill. That award most notably went to the Dreaming Dark... But Chaos? Chaos was not so far withdrawn from such. Though his words might have seemed chiding and petty, they came with a real sense of mirth. Now that they were getting to the good stuff, now that she had given in to the curiosity inherent in those he most saw fit to interact with, Arcturus truly stepped into this newfound role of his.​

​

He didn't even have to wish for more from her, he did not have to further goad her into action, nay she had questions at the ready for him the moment he was done answering the previous. This, this... This was vague. The query had been broken in two parts, if only because she hadn't known how to ask it, but he took full advantage of that. A two for one. Yes. That would do nicely.​

​

This, my dear Tamiko, he began, gesturing upward too, to point between the both of their heads, Is what we call Telepathy. It takes many forms, some you may have heard of even depending on which storybooks you were read as a child. That which is so commonly referred to as a Jedi mindtrick? Telepathy; only rather than using it to speak as we have, they instead utilize it to exert their will over another. To force them to do something in particular, or not do as the case may be.​

​

How the Jedi could claim moral superiority and yet flaunt such a power was beyond him. All the same, he was not done.​

​

Telepathy is the simple act of mentally communicating or interacting with another. Though she had slightly fallen behind at first, he felt her brush close by as they walked through a slightly narrowed alleyway, on their way back toward the shop. He wondered grimly if that was even a good idea. Would it be safe there, should things go south? Gaze flicked over her face, searching for... something.​

​

Whatever decision he settled on, he continued to walk. Continued to talk.​

​

Manipulation, as I so rudely put it... That is, simply put, The Force. Another pause. Was it something she had heard of? Something she knew in any capacity? Regardless of her response, he'd see fit to add to it. We are few and fortunate, those of us with the ability to make use of it. The Force is everywhere, in everything, all at once. He did not see fit to mention the contradictions to that general rule of thumb, the nullifying lizards, and the voidstones, and the Vong. He didn't even know if she'd ever get to a stage wherein such was something she'd need or want to know.​

​

But despite this, only some of us can manipulate it. You are among those who are capable... The plate you speak of? That you were able to figure that out by yourself speaks to an innate proficiency. It would be a shame to see such potential wasted... He sighed as he considered this, and the next words out of his mind were slower, arguably more calculated, as he considered the possible avenues forward. But where you go with it is ultimately up to you. You can squander your birthright, sitting in a shop in the heel of Coruscant's underbelly, live and die a normal life, like all the others, or... You can choose to have more. Decide to claim it for your own, and take your fate into your own hands.​

​

This should have been the part where he made a grander case for the latter. Where he pushed her into a decision. Where he sowed the seed for later corruption. And yet... He didn't. He let his statement hang in the air between them, until next she queried, and until next he answered. An answer that perhaps held insight into why exactly he left that decision up to her.​

​

I was taught what I know because at the time, in the place where I was born, children who showed a proficiency for such were taken and they were trained. Arcturus did not make mention of the fact that prior to this he had been taken from his home for other reasons, that prior to this he'd been a slave in every sense of the word. Such was inconsequential. And he had learned from Darth Empyrean himself that sometimes it was best to keep more sensitive elements of one's past to oneself. None of this came to the forefront of his mind, none of it could be gleaned. He pushed forth only what he wanted her to know and hear.​

​

Your decision is your own; I shan't make that call for you. As for the rest? A smile formed as she wondered aloud - in so far as headspace was aloud - whether it was something she was capable of. The telepathy. You can do all this and more, Tamiko. Chaos, you need only ask and I would teach you how myself. You're already most of the way there, your thoughts are coherent and clear, you are projecting within your own mind... A little extra push, a little extra effort, and... A shrug was his initial response.​

​

Well, if you wanted to, you could speak into my mind as readily as I speak into yours...​

​

They were nearing the garage now. So close that he could see it, even. A crossroads of sort had opened up ahead of them, unseen by the naked eye; he looked to her expectantly. Curious as to what her response might be.​

​

Would she return to her squalor, to the room she'd unintentionally depicted within her minds eye for him to glean, high up in the rafters of the shop, cramped as it was, or would she take the metaphorical hand he'd offered..?​

​

Tamiko Sabo ​

​

 

[Tamiko Sabo]

Arcturus. She ran it through her head as if testing its validity. He was correct to assume she was after something deeper, preferably an explanation of what label crowned his head. Jedi felt very implausible. What world did he exist in that allowed him to become so proficient? Force-use was a strain on her but to him it seemed like breathing. It was hard to hold back her slight adoration at his ability, something that must have been cultivated by unseen years of meditation. But he'd made his point clear, she had to be direct in order for him to.

A spur of confusion was written on her face by his next line. Chaos? Netherrealms? She struggled to follow the conviction in his train of thought, stuck on her own ignorance. Storing the need for clarification as Arcturus prepared another response, she set it aside for later, if there happened to be a later. She almost didn't recognize her hope there would be.

Telepathy is what he called it, a name that registered with her from years of exposure to gossip of Jedi business top-side.

Ironic, she'd been at the heels of the Jedi all her life, well within their reach if they so chose to look down. But now she garnered herself the attention of the furthest thing from them. What allegiance he held still remained a mystery, but there went one possibility.

When he brushed on the possibility of mind control she noticeably shifted, slightly disturbing the bond as if she was readying herself to retreat from it at a moment's notice. It was a simple reflex to his words, one she regretted a moment later as she realized what she'd unconsciously accused him of. Trust was building between them faster than she anticipated, but when someone builds their life on skepticism, it's impossible to tear down that foundation in a day. Being lulled into a false sense of security was the last thing she wanted. Yet he still proved to be remarkably honest. Something about him made the notion of allowing vulnerability feel acceptable.

Easing back, she willed the moment of apprehension to go unnoticed. She really did believe the judgment in his voice.

So you're no Jedi. She'd already come to that conclusion based on his lack of Jedi trappings. No robes, no inherit mysticism, no lightsaber on hand as far as she'd seen. Then what would you call yourself?

She found herself intently following his description of the force, so much of what he said being reflected in her own perceptions. It felt like the entity that had always surrounded her finally had a face. Nodding, she kept up, following Arcturus down the typical murky streets of Coruscant.

Potential is what he claimed she had rooted somewhere in her. Feeling a flurry of interest inspired by him, while her doubts were still deeply embedded she felt momentarily empowered, wanting to reach for higher fruit.

What he said next threw her into tumultuous deliberation. There was a choice to make, as there inevitably would be. The weight holding her in place emphasized the importance of what she was debating. Her entire life had been spent enduring circumstances she felt were out of her control, her relentlessness compelling her to strive for more only to be forced down by the boot of her reality. She survived but had she really built herself a life? There was a need for fulfillment she knew she hadn't quite reached. Did she really have the ability to change all that?

From where they were positioned, physically it would only take a couple steps to reach the still gaping doors. A few more and she'd be back hovering over the decapitated droid left haphazardly strewn on the table.

But the distance that settled in her mind felt as if she almost had no memories of this place.
She couldn't walk back under the metal awning and call it home. It was the furthest thing from it.

I can't go back after this. The thought almost came as a whisper. She could've been referencing Vajs absence but an involuntarily relinquished thought surfaced to confirm her true intention, I'd be shooting myself in the foot. There's nothing for me.

You only need to ask and I'd teach you myself he had said when her mind was still swept up in a torrent of thoughts. There it was, an offer to expand her abilities. To seek out something more. She tested the force bond in reaction, surprised to be establishing herself further.

She faced a diverging path, where she placed her next step made all the difference.

Her gaze lingered on the garage, a wash of unreadable emotions grinding her progress to a halt as her mind swam for the answer.

The decision was made, had been made an eternity ago, just waiting for the invitation to surface. For the pointless deliberation to end and something far greater be set in motion.

You said you could teach me? She paused, eyes trained on the rafters. How far does that offer extend? Her question was sobered, delivered as she faced the garage. A dark look of contemplation blended with the beginnings of acceptance crossed like a shadow over her face. Shifting towards Arcturus she met his gaze directly, taking a step away from the garage.

Arcturus Dinn