You Remind Me of... Me

[Judah Lesan]

Judah was away from his wife... again. This time business took him to Denon where a particular crime lord had been using a Sabacc den as a front to launder his credits, and had an underground slave den underneath. It had been interesting, but of course Judah managed to he the bad guy. Nothing like being able to read a guy's mind and walk away with all the credits in hand as evidence for the authorities. Katara would have been particularly proud of him in the way he had bankrupted the operation. Of course he would leave out the part about where he was shot at multiple times. That was for their children later.

The knight was hungry and his transport would be leaving soon. Well soonish, the company was not reliable on their departure times, and Judah refused to pilot his own ship on Jedi business. He could travel as whoever he wanted this way. Today he didn't care if anyone knew he was a Jedi. Under his cloak he wore a modified version of robes whicf afforded a little extra protection. He wasn't really safe until he got on the transport, and he knew.

Judah waited at a small bistro which was near the spaceport. Corellian fare the Telosian who had made Corellia his home, and was all intents and purposes Corellian himself. The Jedi had considered making it official, something he still needed to talk to Kat about. Tea, a strong Corellian blend, he was still "working"'after all, and nerf dip with au jus, beer battered fries on the side. The only thing healthy about the meal was the tea.

Eyes caught the sight of a young girl in the back corner, well the other back corner, he was in the other. Judah pulled out his pipe and lit it as he waited on the food. Kat wasn't always a fan, but she wasn't there. There was something about the girl. He decided he needed to keep an eye on her.

[member="Sasha Voss"]

 

[Alleycat]

The streets hadn't been so good to Sasha as of late. The abandoned warehouse near Denon's main spaceport where the teenage gang she had been hanging with got raided by local law enforcement and the fourteen year old orphan was once again homeless. As luck had it, Sasha had been away from the location the gang called home when the police did a sweep looking for illegal contraband and stolen items like data pads and other electronic devices. The magenta-haired young girl had had a feeling earlier that something bad was gonna happen and had taken the long way back to the warehouse just in time to see the rag-tag group of orphaned teens she associated with being hauled off in the patty wagon, all on their way to a stay in juvie hall no doubt. Well at least they all would be getting three square meals, a cot to sleep on and a dry roof over their heads. More than she had at the moment...

Sasha's stomach growled loudly as she'd not eaten in a couple of days except for scrapes of food she'd found in dumpsters. It was time to get a real meal in a real restaurant. Looking around she spotted a little bistro that was perfect. It was fairly busy with people coming and going quickly so she could slip in, eat, and leave hopefully unnoticed. After scarfing down a nerf burger, fries and a milk shake in no time flat, the young teen waited for her waitress to go into the back , then walked towards the front entrance to leave when the woman came back out and stopped her.

"Hey missy… You didn't pay," the older blonde said as she fished around in her serving apron for the meal ticket.

Sasha just smiled and gave the woman a thoughtful look, then moved her hand subtly before tucking a strand of the purplish bobbed hair with razor-cut tips behind her right ear. "The bill is paid… Have a nice day."

The woman paused for a moment a bit dazed, then repeated what Sasha had just said. "Thanks. You too," the blue-eyed teenager replied politely, then exited the bistro and quickly walked down the street with a full belly. It was amazing when that little charm worked.

Now to find a safe place to sleep for the night...

[member="Judah Lesan"]

 

[Judah Lesan]

To the natural observer the little hand motion the magenta haired teen had done would have been an innocent gesture to move her hair, but to Judah, who knew much better, it was a classic, sloppy, mind trick. The Knight laid some credits on the table to cover his meal and a decent tip. Standing, he walked over to the table where the girl had been and placed credits to cover her meal and healthy tip as well. There was no sense in getting the waitress fired over an obviously hungry girl who couldn't pay. Judah knew what it was like to go hungry and not have the credits to pay. He couldn't just let her run off to repeat the cycle all over again.

Judah followed her for a bit, sticking to the shadows, all while keeping an eye on the time for his departure. He had this feeling he was going to be purchasing an extra ticket. The force had a funny way of doing things. Here he was supposed to be leaving, going home for a while before his next stent away on business, and it seemed as though he would be brining a surprise guest. The girl was clearly strong mentally, there was no way she was pulling of an untrained mind trick if she wasn't.

The dark haired knight didn't know the streets better than the girl, he didn't have to. That was the beauty of keeping in tune with one's surroundings through the force. It simply would guide. Soon the shadow was not following the girl, but rather he was stepping out in front her.

"Nice trick back there, but sloppy. You really should learn how to do it without the hand wave. I might not have noticed that's what you were doing back there.''

Judah offered his hand. He thought he might as well treat the girl with some respect, like she was capable of making her own decisions.

"Judah Lesan, Jedi Knight, and I'm curious about who you are, and how long you've been able to do that little trick. Depending on how you answer, I can be your ticket off the planet, to 3 meals a day, hot food, your own fresher, and a nice view of a lake and mountains."

 

[Alleycat]

Sasha was so into enjoying the wonderful feeling of a having a full stomach for a change that she didn't listen to her gut feeling when something was about to happen. So when a rugged-looking dark haired man stepped out from one of the closed store fronts, the teen startled for a moment, then stared the older man down with her piercing blue eyes as he went about being all nice like and offering the moon and stars practically to her.

A really skeptical reddish-brown eyebrow arched after this self-proclaimed Jedi Knight held his hand out to Sasha for a seemingly good-will shake. She ignored his remark about her 'trick' for now. So he must have been the guy smoking a pipe in the other back corner and eyeing her from time to time. Creepy!

"Well [member="Judah Lesan"], how do I know that you're just not another serial pedophile looking to reel one more teenage girl off the lowly street to have their evil way with, then murder them and dump their body with all the others you're keeping as trophies, hmm? 'Cause I can guarantee…. that ain't gonna to me," Sasha said most defiantly, not taking his hand as she waited for his answer while standing defensively in case it was needed as a man propositioning her usually ended up wishing he hadn't.

 

[Judah Lesan]

So the girl wanted proof? Had he been raised on the streets, Judah would have been very wary as well. A little demonstration was in order. Summoning the force, Judah levitated his pipe, used the force to fill it, and set it in his mouth. The force had also called on a match to light the tabacco in the pipe. Judah inhaled, and then blew out the levitating match. Then he sent the burnt match toward Sasha slowly enough that she could pluck it out of the air if she wished.

"Now let's start with what we know. I am a Jedi, you are force sensitive. If I wanted to do as you suggested I would simply mind trick you the way you did to steal your meal. Though because that is highly wrong, my wife would kill me, and because I am a Jedi, I won't and haven't."

Judah looked at his wrist chrono. There was still some time. A further demonstration would erase whatever doubts lingered. He pressed into her mind, not to invade it, or force her to do something. Judah simply did what he was known for. He talked to her mentally.

"You aren't the only one who can do things with their mind you know, and if you want to learn how to control it, all of it, I can teach you. Three meals a day. Your own room. Your own fresher. A mountain view with a lake to swim. My wife is the best cook in the universe, and the woods are nothing like the city."

In the distance the boarding call was made for his transport. It was now or he was buying two more tickets.

"That's my transport. Not a lot of time to think, so what's your gut tell you?"

[member="Sasha Voss"]

 

[Alleycat]

Sasha tried real hard to not show the shock and awe she was feeling right now after both demonstrations, but darn his bigger trick was really what got her thinking and digesting what he said. The teen bit her lip for a few moments in contemplation. Her gut feeling was this was chance of a lifetime to escape her harden ife on the streets and maybe become something bigger than just a petty thief and con-artist. If it didn't work out,

Cautiously Sasha reached out with her left hand and took the blown out match stick from the dark-haired man. "You know the Surgeon General says that smoking is dangerous to your health and can kill you. Does your wife know you smoke cause if you pay me enough I can keep your dirty little secret," the magenta-haired teen smirked, then added as her right hand finally shook his.

"Alright [member="Judah Lesan"]… I'll go with you to this paradise you speak of, but…. I want a dog thrown in to seal the deal,," she said with a sly smile. "Oh and my name is Sasha, Sasha Voss."

 

[Judah Lesan]

A dog! Seriously!? This girl was really trying to push her luck, but Judah had the land for one, or two. It looked like Judah was going back to Corellia with a few surprises. There was one small detail Judah left out when he told Sasha about his place. He wasn't sure how she would take it, but there was the matter of the fact she wasn't going to be the only teenager in the house. Actually, maybe Judah needed to build a shed and just stick his son out there. Sasha wasn't ugly, and JJ was fourteen. The scene was beginning to play out in his mind.

Her name was ironic, and took Judah back to a very good memory which was now about fifteen years ago. Sasha had been the only name Judah could think of for the baby Kat had wanted to have. It had been her mother's name, and Judah had wanted to honor the memory even though he had never met the woman. Instead the pair had a boy, and Kat was the one to name him. He hope had been to have a piece of Judah for when he was gone, and their son had been that.

"Alright, though we'll get to dogs. My son will have a fit if you get one and he doesn't."

That's how Judah let that out of the bag, though he didn't mention he was about her age. That could wait until they got to Corellia. Another boarding call played over the speakers in the distance, and Judah turned his head. He motioned for the girl to follow him.

"We got to get on that if you don't want to be stuck here another few hours. Whatever you need for clothes we can get for you. We land just outside Coronet then take a nice speeder bike ride up Coronet Peak. It's pretty ride this time of year. We'll get you a few things before leaving the city, and you can meet the family, get settled. Your training however, starts now."

Judah started walking to the transport.

"The first thing you need to learn is to always remain connected to your surroundings. You will startle less if you do. The reason you are able to do all these things is because you can use the force. The force is connected to us, it runs through us, and everything around us. You are connected to everything. Calm your mind, empty your thoughts, and reach out. Feel the force flowing through you."

[member="Sasha Voss"]

 

[Alleycat]

"Yay… Wait, what?! You have a son? Let's get one thing straight, mister. I'm not babysitting him no matter how cute he is," Sasha said with finality. She'd done her share of it taking care of the little ones at the orphanage. Now all the teen wanted to do was be free to do what other fourteen year olds did… Which the orphaned youth sadly didn't know about to be honest. The young girl had had to grow up so fast that she missed out just being a kid.

"Never been more ready to ditch this place and move on…. Ohh a speeder bike ride sounds astral!"

The magenta-haired teenager quickly fell instep with [member="Judah Lesan"] as he lead the way to their boarding transport. She carried her whole life in the small backpack that was slung over her shoulder and it wasn't much; a change of clothes, a worn and faded pink baby blanket, a garbage bag for a rain coat, an old flimsi text book that she makes herself read every day, and a datapad that she had fixed up after finding it broken and discarded.

Sasha listened carefully to what the Jedi Knight was saying, but it still seemed so unreal to her to fathom she could use the Force. As they waited in line to board after getting her a last minute ticket, she did as he said and tried to clear her mind and listen to the world around her.

"I can feel mostly emotions… You know like happy, sad, glad, and terrified," Sashsa shared of what her first Jedi lesson was affording her. She turned her head and canted it subtly in the direction of the woman standing in line two behind them. "That lady I think is scared of flying…. I can actually relate, though I'm excited as well. But now that I can sense all these emotions, how do I not? It's giving me a royal headache."

 

[Judah Lesan]

"No babysitting I promise, he's your age," Judah said with his trademark smirk, the one which Kat knew all to well.

Sasha, she was going to have to learn how to read Judah, but as they trained together, used the force to connect to each other, a bond would be forged which Judah had not shared in a long time. The knight had missed the unique bond shared between master and student. This would be a bond Sasha would learn to appreciate and love. No, Judah had not rushed into making this decision, and neither had Sasha really. They were brought together by the force.

Judah listened as Sasha describe what she sensed. It confirmed what he felt through the force as well, she was a very strong empath, like he was himself. The struggle of learning to tune other people's feeling out was hard. An empath always sensed, always felt, but they could learn to compartmentalize their senses. First though, Judah reached out and sent a wave of peace to the woman who seemed nervous to board. It was fun to watch as she physically relaxed and found the confidence to board. Since Sasha was now in tune with the force, she would likely sense that Judah had done something to aid the woman. It was skill Sasha would learn when he could trust that she wouldn't abuse her strengths as an empath. The cafe incident wood have to be redeemed.

"You will never shut them out completely, but you can keep them at a distance. You all always observe things others don't, have feelings or senses even other force users won't. However, you can compartmentalize your mind. The concept is simple, simply build a wall in your mind. A high strong wall, one which is designed to keep your thoughts in as much as it is designed to keep others out."

Judah handed his boarding pass, and Sasha's, to the attendant at check in. They passed through, and found a small cabin in the rear of the transport. The sentinel had always kept the winnings from jobs like the one he had just completed. The credits were dirty, traceable, always spent, or laundered, to keep himself and his family safe.

Once they reached the cabin, Judah tossed his robe off and removed the outer tunic. He was comfortable and yet still decent. His twin sabers were now visible, as was the pouch he carried on his belt. Inside was a round, foldable frame. Two holo images were contained inside. One of Katara, and the other, JJ. Judah pulled the collapsible frame from the pouch and tossed it to Sasha. He was sure the images would evoke some type of respond. One he could sense.

"Build your wall, then look at the images. When you think it's strong enough, tell me, and I'll test it. I promise not to invade your private thoughts. I merely want to see how strong it is."

[member="Sasha Voss"]