Run.
Panting breaths left him as he sprinted, well more so hobbled quickly, down the nearest side-street. Coming to Jedha had been a mistake, of that he was sure. A pained hiss left the Sith Acolyte as he stumbled, nearly falling down due to not spotting a slick spot on the street that he was traversing. The singed stump that used to be his right hand was held against his body protectively, leaving only his left arm to support him against the wall as he attempted to catch his breath.
By his estimate, Alisteri had sprinted the better part of nearly five blocks by now.
He hadn't ran straight of course, he had ducked down alleyways and side-streets like the one that he was in now. Anything to try and escape from whatever pursuit would follow him, if any at all. It seemed as if his adrenaline had finally run out however. He suppressed and bit back pained whimpers as he slumped down against the wall, his wounds clawing at him. The masked man had taken quite a beating in his duel earlier, and now he could feel all of it at once. His anger and adrenaline during the battle and then the chase had numbed, or at least helped him to ignore, the spikes of pain that now tore at his body.
His missing hand was the worst of it of course, the wound stung all the way up his arm.
Strong yet pained exhales were the only noise that left the acolyte as he sat there, lamenting and stewing in his own pain. He refused to utter any obvious sounds of pain. It was almost as if he intended to spite his enemy by merely gritting his teeth.
Other than the occasional curse, he didn't speak either. He simply sat there and writhed as he struggled to contain the sensations that his wounds exuded. After nearly thirty minutes of trying to push the pain out of his mind and move on, he finally managed to work up the will to stand and begin moving again. He didn't manage to make it very far.
Alisteri stumbled his way to a small alcove under a nearby building, one that would hide him for the time being. There was just enough room for him to lie down and manage to stay out of sight of the street. With any luck, he would also be able to hide from prying eyes. It didn't take long for the acolyte to slowly fall asleep, the day having worn and exhausted him too much to stay conscious any longer.
The next morning...
Alisteri found himself slowly blinking awake, the unmistakable form of someone sitting near a small fire with a little cooking area greeted him just outside the little alcove. Said someone appeared to be a homeless Duros man that, upon seeing that the wounded man was awake, lifted up a spare cup towards him. "Have a drink, the food is almost done."
That was how he currently found himself sharing a fairly decent breakfast with a rather polite new acquaintance. Evidently the Duros had managed to catch their breakfast, it was some small creature that the acolyte didn't recall the name of, sniffing at the unconscious young man. Alongside some stale bread and some lukewarm water as well as some small talk, the two had a nice little meal to start the day.
"So, I'm guessing you were attacked by those Sith yesterday?"
The young acolyte glanced up at his breakfast partner, busy with tying some loose cloth around some of his wounds. They weren't bleeding, but the way that his clothes rubbed against them only made them ache more. "Oh...yeah I was." He went back to his work, gritting his teeth slightly as he finished wrapping up the stump of his right hand. "I came here on pilgrimage, wound up losing all my supplies and whatnot in the confusion."
"You're lucky to have come out alive my pilgrim friend, not everyone is so fortunate." The Duros noted, still idly chewing on a bit of bread as he watched the strange man finish up his bandaging. "Lucky..." Alisteri resisted the urge to scoff as he stared down at his missing hand, closing his eye as he let out a small sigh. He supposed that it could've been his head instead, so the other man had a decent point. After a moment of silent contemplation, he turned his head back up to look at the charitable Duros. "I don't mean to ask anything else of you, but do you know anyone that could help me with...with this?" He held up the wounded limb as if it wasn't obvious what he was referring to.
The Duros swallowed and sat back, seeming to think for a moment before slowly nodding. "There aren't too many people that like to give handouts to someone like you, but if you're looking for someone that's a bit more charitable, then I do know of this one place..."
Several hours later...
"...he likes to give out cybernetics to the needy sometimes, maybe he'll be in a giving mood today..."
The Duros had given him directions to the small store that he now stood across from, crouching in a nearby alleyway as he watched the door of the establishment cautiously. Evidently it was a local, small-time cybernetic workshop. The owner was also apparently charitable from time to hand, occasionally providing his services to those in need that showed up at his door. Alisteri had no intention of relying on that charity today.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the door to the building opened and a yellow-skinned Twi'lek stepped out. The owner, he knew that because of the description that the Duros had given him, was quick to turn and lock the door behind him with a few button presses on the door's side. Then the Twi'lek proceeded down the street, off on some mission that only he knew. It didn't matter where he was going, Alisteri wouldn't be in there for too long.
He waited another minute or two before he emerged from his hiding place, looping around to the back of the building where shipments of supplies and material to the workshop came in at. It only took him a moment to cut his way through the back door and enter the building. Had he any proper method of getting through the door, he would have used it. He didn't however, but he did feel a bit guilty about just leaving a hold in that door.
Nonetheless, he had to act fast.
Unfortunately, the storage area held only tools and some spare parts that he couldn't make usage of. Muttering curses under his breath, the acolyte made his way to the operation room where the cybernetics were usually installed and was relieved to see several containers full of all sorts of cybernetic replacements. He was quick to begin digging through one of the containers that held replacement hands, his gaze running over all of the various option as he frantically tried to find one that- "Hello?"
The masked man froze immediately, his head snapping to the source of the noise to find a young, probably only a bit older than he was, pale yellow Twi'lek staring at him in both fear and concern. Chit. Before Alisteri could react however, the Twi'lek had already spotted the weapon on his hip and gasped. "You're a Jedi!" He blinked at the exclamation, the look of concern and fear being replaced by one of awe and excitement. "Oh no you're injured! Hold on here, sit down and I'll help you."
The next thing that the acolyte knew he was sitting in the chair that occupied the room while the Twi'lek was unwrapping and measuring the stump on his right limb in order to find a suitable replacement for it. The entire time, the Twi'lek was evidently the daughter of the owner, she was talking his ears off with a variety of questions. Most of them were less questions and more so her asking him about what it was like being a Jedi, how many Sith had he fought, had he ever saved anyone, that sort of thing. In his overwhelmed state, the poor boy could only offer half-baked lies as answers to the barrage of questions that were fired his way.
If his lies were obvious though, the Twi'lek didn't seem to think so.
She bought everything that he told her, even the lie that he had lost his hand in the battle against the Sith yesterday. "My father would love to meet you y'know, he's never met a Jedi before either!" Alisteri winced at that statement but nodded, his gaze fixed on his wrist as she worked on attaching a new hand. "Oh?" The Twi'lek nodded, her seemingly ever-present smile only widening. "Yep! He would be glad to know that we had helped a brave warrior such as yourself. Oh and don't worry about the price, our services are always free to those that fight for justice." She spoke with a small glint in her eye, yet her words made the young man nearly scoff.
Finally, after another session of rapid questions, his new replacement hand had been attached. It was nothing fancy, just a civilian model with no special features. It would work well though, far better than simply relying on his left hand for the rest of his life. She watched curiously as the Sith examined his new hand, flexing the fingers and running his gaze over it. It wasn't the first cybernetic that he had to have installed of course, but he hoped that it would be the last.
"...Thank you, your generosity is astounding." Alisteri gave her a nod and she beamed in response, giving him a small salute in return. "Just doing my civic duty! Helping those in need is a good thing indeed." Their attentions were then shifted to the door of the room as the distant sound of a door being opened cut through their conversation. "Oh that must be my father, stay right here and I'll go get him. He's going to love meeting you-" The Twi'lek was cut off as the left hand of the acolyte that she had been helping suddenly clamped over her mouth. Her eyes widened as the unmistakable sound of a lightsaber being activated echoed in the room, the red blade then being brought up to her throat. "Silence, I don't want to hurt you or your father." The acolyte ordered in a hushed tone, his newly acquired hand fitting around the hilt of his weapon just as good as his old one did.
The two sat there in silence as the sound of the building's owner entering and shuffling around somewhere else reached them. The Twi'lek had a look of horror and betrayal etched on her face, a couple of tears escaping her as she silently begged the Sith for mercy.
After a few minutes the noises outside of the room faded as the owner headed to a different part of the building, farther away from the precarious position that his daughter had found herself in. It was then that Alisteri decided to take his leave. "I was never here, if you tell anyone that I was then I promise no repercussion, but I would prefer that you didn't. You've done me a favor, I shall do you one in return by leaving and never returning. Am I clear?" The Twi'lek nodded, her eyes now shut tightly as she attempted to stop the tears from flowing.
With a small sigh, the acolyte let go of the young woman and quickly ran towards the storage room. He burst out into the alley behind the workshop and sprinted away as fast as he could go. He needed to get away, just in case the Twi'lek decided to tell someone about him.
All he needed was some time.
An hour or so later...
Alisteri had made his way back to the little alcove that he had spent the night in, the Duros long gone by now. He sat down, catching his breath as he looked over his right hand. It was lighter than his old, flesh one. He had mixed feelings about it. By now most other Sith on the planet had probably either escaped of had been captured or killed. The acolyte didn't intend to join the ones that were captured, and he had come too far to be cut down now.
He dug through the pockets and pouches of his clothing, soon producing his communicator. Idly muttering under his breath, he fiddled with the device for a few moments and soon managed to contact someone that hadn't spoken to in a good long while. He contacted Barlan and was quick to speak up right as his call was answered.
"Hello, it's Alisteri. Ophidia's apprentice. Look I know that its been...well a long time...but I would be really grateful if you could come and pick me up. I'm uh....on Jedha somewhere..."
Panting breaths left him as he sprinted, well more so hobbled quickly, down the nearest side-street. Coming to Jedha had been a mistake, of that he was sure. A pained hiss left the Sith Acolyte as he stumbled, nearly falling down due to not spotting a slick spot on the street that he was traversing. The singed stump that used to be his right hand was held against his body protectively, leaving only his left arm to support him against the wall as he attempted to catch his breath.
By his estimate, Alisteri had sprinted the better part of nearly five blocks by now.
He hadn't ran straight of course, he had ducked down alleyways and side-streets like the one that he was in now. Anything to try and escape from whatever pursuit would follow him, if any at all. It seemed as if his adrenaline had finally run out however. He suppressed and bit back pained whimpers as he slumped down against the wall, his wounds clawing at him. The masked man had taken quite a beating in his duel earlier, and now he could feel all of it at once. His anger and adrenaline during the battle and then the chase had numbed, or at least helped him to ignore, the spikes of pain that now tore at his body.
His missing hand was the worst of it of course, the wound stung all the way up his arm.
Strong yet pained exhales were the only noise that left the acolyte as he sat there, lamenting and stewing in his own pain. He refused to utter any obvious sounds of pain. It was almost as if he intended to spite his enemy by merely gritting his teeth.
Other than the occasional curse, he didn't speak either. He simply sat there and writhed as he struggled to contain the sensations that his wounds exuded. After nearly thirty minutes of trying to push the pain out of his mind and move on, he finally managed to work up the will to stand and begin moving again. He didn't manage to make it very far.
Alisteri stumbled his way to a small alcove under a nearby building, one that would hide him for the time being. There was just enough room for him to lie down and manage to stay out of sight of the street. With any luck, he would also be able to hide from prying eyes. It didn't take long for the acolyte to slowly fall asleep, the day having worn and exhausted him too much to stay conscious any longer.
The next morning...
Alisteri found himself slowly blinking awake, the unmistakable form of someone sitting near a small fire with a little cooking area greeted him just outside the little alcove. Said someone appeared to be a homeless Duros man that, upon seeing that the wounded man was awake, lifted up a spare cup towards him. "Have a drink, the food is almost done."
That was how he currently found himself sharing a fairly decent breakfast with a rather polite new acquaintance. Evidently the Duros had managed to catch their breakfast, it was some small creature that the acolyte didn't recall the name of, sniffing at the unconscious young man. Alongside some stale bread and some lukewarm water as well as some small talk, the two had a nice little meal to start the day.
"So, I'm guessing you were attacked by those Sith yesterday?"
The young acolyte glanced up at his breakfast partner, busy with tying some loose cloth around some of his wounds. They weren't bleeding, but the way that his clothes rubbed against them only made them ache more. "Oh...yeah I was." He went back to his work, gritting his teeth slightly as he finished wrapping up the stump of his right hand. "I came here on pilgrimage, wound up losing all my supplies and whatnot in the confusion."
"You're lucky to have come out alive my pilgrim friend, not everyone is so fortunate." The Duros noted, still idly chewing on a bit of bread as he watched the strange man finish up his bandaging. "Lucky..." Alisteri resisted the urge to scoff as he stared down at his missing hand, closing his eye as he let out a small sigh. He supposed that it could've been his head instead, so the other man had a decent point. After a moment of silent contemplation, he turned his head back up to look at the charitable Duros. "I don't mean to ask anything else of you, but do you know anyone that could help me with...with this?" He held up the wounded limb as if it wasn't obvious what he was referring to.
The Duros swallowed and sat back, seeming to think for a moment before slowly nodding. "There aren't too many people that like to give handouts to someone like you, but if you're looking for someone that's a bit more charitable, then I do know of this one place..."
Several hours later...
"...he likes to give out cybernetics to the needy sometimes, maybe he'll be in a giving mood today..."
The Duros had given him directions to the small store that he now stood across from, crouching in a nearby alleyway as he watched the door of the establishment cautiously. Evidently it was a local, small-time cybernetic workshop. The owner was also apparently charitable from time to hand, occasionally providing his services to those in need that showed up at his door. Alisteri had no intention of relying on that charity today.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the door to the building opened and a yellow-skinned Twi'lek stepped out. The owner, he knew that because of the description that the Duros had given him, was quick to turn and lock the door behind him with a few button presses on the door's side. Then the Twi'lek proceeded down the street, off on some mission that only he knew. It didn't matter where he was going, Alisteri wouldn't be in there for too long.
He waited another minute or two before he emerged from his hiding place, looping around to the back of the building where shipments of supplies and material to the workshop came in at. It only took him a moment to cut his way through the back door and enter the building. Had he any proper method of getting through the door, he would have used it. He didn't however, but he did feel a bit guilty about just leaving a hold in that door.
Nonetheless, he had to act fast.
Unfortunately, the storage area held only tools and some spare parts that he couldn't make usage of. Muttering curses under his breath, the acolyte made his way to the operation room where the cybernetics were usually installed and was relieved to see several containers full of all sorts of cybernetic replacements. He was quick to begin digging through one of the containers that held replacement hands, his gaze running over all of the various option as he frantically tried to find one that- "Hello?"
The masked man froze immediately, his head snapping to the source of the noise to find a young, probably only a bit older than he was, pale yellow Twi'lek staring at him in both fear and concern. Chit. Before Alisteri could react however, the Twi'lek had already spotted the weapon on his hip and gasped. "You're a Jedi!" He blinked at the exclamation, the look of concern and fear being replaced by one of awe and excitement. "Oh no you're injured! Hold on here, sit down and I'll help you."
The next thing that the acolyte knew he was sitting in the chair that occupied the room while the Twi'lek was unwrapping and measuring the stump on his right limb in order to find a suitable replacement for it. The entire time, the Twi'lek was evidently the daughter of the owner, she was talking his ears off with a variety of questions. Most of them were less questions and more so her asking him about what it was like being a Jedi, how many Sith had he fought, had he ever saved anyone, that sort of thing. In his overwhelmed state, the poor boy could only offer half-baked lies as answers to the barrage of questions that were fired his way.
If his lies were obvious though, the Twi'lek didn't seem to think so.
She bought everything that he told her, even the lie that he had lost his hand in the battle against the Sith yesterday. "My father would love to meet you y'know, he's never met a Jedi before either!" Alisteri winced at that statement but nodded, his gaze fixed on his wrist as she worked on attaching a new hand. "Oh?" The Twi'lek nodded, her seemingly ever-present smile only widening. "Yep! He would be glad to know that we had helped a brave warrior such as yourself. Oh and don't worry about the price, our services are always free to those that fight for justice." She spoke with a small glint in her eye, yet her words made the young man nearly scoff.
Finally, after another session of rapid questions, his new replacement hand had been attached. It was nothing fancy, just a civilian model with no special features. It would work well though, far better than simply relying on his left hand for the rest of his life. She watched curiously as the Sith examined his new hand, flexing the fingers and running his gaze over it. It wasn't the first cybernetic that he had to have installed of course, but he hoped that it would be the last.
"...Thank you, your generosity is astounding." Alisteri gave her a nod and she beamed in response, giving him a small salute in return. "Just doing my civic duty! Helping those in need is a good thing indeed." Their attentions were then shifted to the door of the room as the distant sound of a door being opened cut through their conversation. "Oh that must be my father, stay right here and I'll go get him. He's going to love meeting you-" The Twi'lek was cut off as the left hand of the acolyte that she had been helping suddenly clamped over her mouth. Her eyes widened as the unmistakable sound of a lightsaber being activated echoed in the room, the red blade then being brought up to her throat. "Silence, I don't want to hurt you or your father." The acolyte ordered in a hushed tone, his newly acquired hand fitting around the hilt of his weapon just as good as his old one did.
The two sat there in silence as the sound of the building's owner entering and shuffling around somewhere else reached them. The Twi'lek had a look of horror and betrayal etched on her face, a couple of tears escaping her as she silently begged the Sith for mercy.
After a few minutes the noises outside of the room faded as the owner headed to a different part of the building, farther away from the precarious position that his daughter had found herself in. It was then that Alisteri decided to take his leave. "I was never here, if you tell anyone that I was then I promise no repercussion, but I would prefer that you didn't. You've done me a favor, I shall do you one in return by leaving and never returning. Am I clear?" The Twi'lek nodded, her eyes now shut tightly as she attempted to stop the tears from flowing.
With a small sigh, the acolyte let go of the young woman and quickly ran towards the storage room. He burst out into the alley behind the workshop and sprinted away as fast as he could go. He needed to get away, just in case the Twi'lek decided to tell someone about him.
All he needed was some time.
An hour or so later...
Alisteri had made his way back to the little alcove that he had spent the night in, the Duros long gone by now. He sat down, catching his breath as he looked over his right hand. It was lighter than his old, flesh one. He had mixed feelings about it. By now most other Sith on the planet had probably either escaped of had been captured or killed. The acolyte didn't intend to join the ones that were captured, and he had come too far to be cut down now.
He dug through the pockets and pouches of his clothing, soon producing his communicator. Idly muttering under his breath, he fiddled with the device for a few moments and soon managed to contact someone that hadn't spoken to in a good long while. He contacted Barlan and was quick to speak up right as his call was answered.
"Hello, it's Alisteri. Ophidia's apprentice. Look I know that its been...well a long time...but I would be really grateful if you could come and pick me up. I'm uh....on Jedha somewhere..."
