Public A Mysterious Culinary Encounter.

[Kyyrk]

F I N D I N G S
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Kyyrk was in motion the moment that the door clicked open. For whatever strengths Felix may have, matters such as this had been Kyyrk's sole concern for...well, no one needed to know the exact number. He figured it was only a matter of time before the younger man caved, and called upon his expertise. As he moved, so did Horace. The small owl lit upon the man's shoulder, and rode up the stairs as Kyyrk ascended. He paused at the doorway as Felix summarized the findings, his gaze locked to the young Cathar woman.

He did not say anything immediately, instead scanning the young woman before turning to Felix. "Unless you seek a treasure hunt, I'd advise against wasting time on this temple." Kyyrk turned back to the woman, and gestured to invite her back downstairs. It was, perhaps, time for that seat. Though he did not look at Felix directly, he continued to explain. "I have yet to see an artifact that could manipulate time in such a manner. Duxn was a world of great power, yes, but the Jedi and Sith both have other worlds they would have kept such a device on. At least, if they knew about it."

Kyyrk turned to look at Felix now. "In the days of Vitiate, there was a space station known as The Arcanum, which housed any and all relics the Sith Empire deemed too dangerous to allow the rank and file to access. Only the Sphere of Mysteries or her chosen had access to this place. Not once in all her years of operation did such a device enter." Kyyrk's arms folded over his chest, and he seemed confident in the dark revelation this information carried with it. Only the Sphere of Mysteries and select guests could even enter the place. So what did it say that he spoke with confidence as to the contents of this station? "Either way, we'd best move to more comfortable setting." His gaze turned back to the Cathar. "I feel that your guest has much to process. At best, she has several hundred years of history to catch up on..."

Zerei | Felix Aquila

 

[Zerei]

Yavin?? Isn't that...one the way to Mandalore? Or...was it Dathomir? Why would Ryloth use it for timekeeping?

Zerei bowed to give herself a moment to steady herself. Things were moving so fast. Too fast. It was all just so distracting. She had something she needed to do.

Or... Or, perhaps this was it. Who was she to question the Will of the Force, especially as it seemed to have lifted her bodily from the task she had believed her destiny to deposit her... ....here.

All right, then.

All right.


"It is..." She paused to ease the tightness of her throat that threatened to block the words. "It is one thousand, one hundred and sixty-eight days since the First Battle of Geonosis..."

She was aware of what she was revealing by that count, by the pain that echoed through her voice with that recitation. Only a few people actually knew the carnage of that battle. Fewer still cared.

Straightening from her bow, she lifted her cool, ice-blue gaze to the two men. They were not fools. They would know who and what she is, now. Somehow that eased the tension along her spine. She wasn't one to dance around conflict, to move with guile and wit. No...if they wanted to kill her, now, she would welcome the straightforward clash. If they wanted to capture and interrogate...well, they'd get the clash, in any event.

"I am Jedi Knight Zerei. General to the Skyburners Legion, subordinate to the 212th Division of the Grand Army of the Republic."

Or I was. I was and they took it from me. Took him from me.

She notched her chin higher, limbs loose and ready, fingers twitching gently. "I do not recognize the authority of the Empire, nor the Emperor."

She released a long, slow breath, peace spiralling through her chest. She had done what she could. She had freed who she could. She had already believed herself dead once, today. What was one more?

"What did you gentlemen have planned for me?"


Kyyrk Felix Aquila

 

[Felix Aquila]

R E C O V E R Y ​

Tag: Zerei / Kyyrk
Location: Aquila Manor, Jixuan Desert, Ryloth.

Felix would nod, finding himself agreeing with Kyyrk, though intrigued as to where he had learned about this location on Duxn, a couple notations of what he had said sounded remotely familiar, but it had been a long time since he had combed through the information about the Ancient Sith and the Eternal Empire that called in the times of the Old Republic. Though he was certain he remembered a story about someone gaining entry into a place like that, and stealing several items of what lay within it... was it the same story? .. Perhaps he needed a refresher.

But as she revealed her name, Felixs' fingers would be typing furiously into Galactic records, history books and more attempting to find notable deeds or better yet a picture of the person she claimed to be. It wouldn't be long before instances of her name in battle reports and historical documents of famous battles would come crawling across his projector. Though finding an image of something so long ago he might have to go to a museum in order to find. Her rank of General meant little at that time, it was more or less the unanimous rank of any Jedi who fought in the clone wars. But to hear she was a master... if only he had access to the records of the NJO.

Sadly, wrong part of the Galaxy, not to mention he didn't care to make a web of connections that expanded in that direction due to recent events.

Felix would Usher everyone back into their lounge area "Kyyrks' right, we'd best to move back to the other room. We don't want anyone fainting." He would chuckle just enough to get the point that he was using some level of humor to break some of the tension. But as they arrived back he would bring up information on the end of the battle that she had mentioned on a holoprojector which was stationed in the table in the center of the room. Articles, images as well as a history of the event scrolling by to be read by anyone who wanted the recap.

"This happened 22 years before the battle of yavin... so... I don't know how to tell you this, but, you've been gone for almost nine hundred years... The empire you fought against, the confederacy that existed back then that served it... has been dead and gone for half a millennia."

Felix would give her some time in order to compute the information, as battles of the republic and the history that founded the known universe would begin to slowly scroll past her, controls to allow the manipulation of the speed of information were before her. Felix.

Would just wait.

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[Kyyrk]

F I N D I N G S
​

Kyyrk's face set in a grim expression as the woman stated that it was three and a half years after the first battle of the Clone Wars. She was in for a rude awakening. Though he could sympathize. Much better than she would expect. He gestured towards the staircase, and if she would allow him, he put a comforting hand on her shoulder as he led her down stairs. When he spoke again, it was in a soft, comforting tone. "Right now, what we have planned for you is an attempt to ease the transition you've been forced to make. I will stress one thing: You are safe, Master Jedi. Unlike the time you left behind you, there is no order to kill Force Sensitives on sight."

Kyyrk guided the woman towards a chair once they had reached the sitting room. "You will be happy to know that the Empire did fall. Though not at the Battle of Yavin, as young Master Felix would suggest. It was, however, important enough event to have been the marker of time ever since. Always annoying how that changed." Kyyrk smirked in an attempt to lighten the girl's spirits. "I remember when it was based off the Treaty of Coruscant. My how the time flies." The galaxy hadn't used the Treaty of Coruscant as a marker of years for millennia.

Kyyrk paused next to a chair, and took a seat himself, but sat at the edge of it, ready for action at a moment's notice. "You are currently in the domain of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Though the founders drew...some inspiration from the nation of old, we hold no ill will towards the Jedi, nor the Republic. We are protectors. Defenders. Like you." Liar. Kyyrk smiled grimly at the woman. If you are defenders, why has Csilla fallen? "The Jedi Order, fragmented though it may be, is alive and well. To our north, the Silver Jedi, and residing upon Coruscant, the New Jedi Order. Both are proud allies of our nation. If you so desire, once you have had time to rest, I will take you there."

Zerei | Felix Aquila

 

[Zerei]

Zerei remained standing in front of the elegent chair, spine rigid as her gaze darted back and forth between the two males in the room. Her lips twitched in a quick, disbelieving baring of fang.

"So...what you gentlemen are telling me is that I somehow failed to notice the fall of a galactic Empire and the passing of more than 800 years...and all of the people who have wanted me dead for the last several months are gone, but I am...standing in the middle of the Separatist Alliance...and everyone's just willing to let bygones be bygones...? Do I have that correctly?"

Her fingers twitched, aching to wrap themselves around the hilt of her 'saber. Or her san-ni staff. Or the unfamiliar blaster pressing against her hip. Or the tall, mythra-plated lamp in the corner of the room. Anything that could be used to smash her way out of this nightmare.

She exhaled a long, slow breath. There is no emotion.

"Before we continue, I should tell you that I have not been in the good graces of the Jedi Council since the third Battle of Mygeeto. Attempting to..." She gestured vaguely. "...trick me into revealing some kind of information is a waste of your time and mine. I have nothing to give, unless you're somehow invested in the mating habits of the offshoot Flakax species on Attahox."

She was certain the assignment was meant to humiliate her, in some way. But she'd found some peace in the work, there. And, in the end, it had kept her alive when all other had fallen, hadn't it?

Zerei shrugged, opening her hands, palms up. "And even if the Council had been re-established, I'm certain they would want nothing to do with me."

What do you want?

I want my boys back. I want my purpose back. I want a reason of my own to fight.

A tiny, niggling worry yammered in the back of her mind.

What if...? What if it's true? What if they're all gone. All of them.

She ignored it before it could make her knees weak.

Because...what, then, is left?

"I assume Nar Shaddaa still exists in this...distant time, then? Perhaps...perhaps that is where I should go."

Start at the beginning. Somewhere I can do some good.

Zerei was losing track of her own thoughts. She had no fear of pain, or fighting, or even death. She'd made peace with all of those thoughts, years ago. But to be left...without purpose. Without work. She needed a reason.

And one could always find purpose in aiding those who were left behind in the wake of the powerful.

There is Peace.

"Yes. Nar Shaddaa, I think, if you don't mind. I apologize for the inconvenience, but I appear to have been dropped in your laps without a cred to my name."

Felix Aquila Kyyrk

 

[Felix Aquila]

R E C O V E R Y ​

Tag: Zerei / Kyyrk
Location: Aquila Manor, Jixuan Desert, Ryloth.

Felix didn't feel the need to bite back at the somewhat obvious subversion, though Kyyrk was correct, the Empire didn't end at the battle of Yavin, but it certainly marked the definitive date and battle that broke its back. It had been a personal opinion during his history lessons, and that of his tutors that everything proceeding from there was simply a formality.

"Hey, I know this is a lot, but it seems that whatever mysterious thing you came across obviously acted quickly, and in such a manner time didn't pass, but rather you likely passed through it. So it's no fault of yours that you happen to be here. It is likely however that the Jedi Council if you decide to make your way there will have records of you in their libraries. You have a place here if you should want it. "

She seemed frustrated, distressed, why wouldn't she be, she'd only learned that everyone she knew and loved had been dead for almost a thousand years. Felix couldn't help but wonder how he would feel if their roles were reversed. He'd be mortified beyond imagining. The fact she hadn't gone into a mad panic was little more than a testament to the extent and success of her training as a Jedi. Finally, one that Felix could actually look to and be proud of... The Jedi don't deserve her. Ire would well in his throat at that thought.

"Our confederacy is actually united against places like Nar Shadaa and the Hutt Cartels, but I'm sure we'd be able to get you there safely. You see, the number one purpose of the Confederacy is to eradicate slavery from the Galaxy, many of the hutts and the worlds they influence often trade in them somewhat plainly.... Although."

And now Felix would look to Kyyrk, his voice dropping along with his mood as he would deliberate.

"If i recall, Nar Shadaa was recently occupied by the Silver Jedi... but doesn't it border on Bryn space?"

He would ask, concerned. The Bryn were a plague, biological destroyers hellbent in eradicating humanoid life from the galaxy. They'd lay waste to a thousand worlds to get to where they were. Felix wouldn't be surprised if Nar Shadaa was a war world. The Hutts spared no expense in the defense of their homeworld, he doubted it would fall easily. But one could never know. His tone was that of worry, entailing that perhaps flying there would be delivering the woman into a warzone, and not just one that she could get caught in, but the pilots as well. His judgement would defer to Kyyrk.

At least this once.
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[Kyyrk]

I N T E G R A T E
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Kyyrk couldn't help but smile as she referred to their nation as the Separatist Alliance. He waited until an appropriate moment, then ventured, "There is nothing to consider a bygone, Master Jedi. The separatists were formed by planets that left the Republic. Our founders were independent. Tis a long story, but suffice to say the war between the Jedi and Sith is still very much alive. It was at its peak when our nation was founded. A defense pact between planets too unimportant to warrant the protection of a larger nation."

The man's eyes scanned Zerei's figure as if searching for an answer that was not there. The smile slowly faded from his face as he processed what she said about the Council. "A feeling I understand all too well. But rest assured, the only information we would seek from you is that which you are willing to give us. We would very much like to understand what brought you here, but not everything can be explained by reason."

Kyyrk sighed quietly, pushing himself to his feet. "Master Felix is right, however. Nar Shadda is on the brink of war. The Confederacy cannot authorize civilian transport to this world." Kyyrk turned to look at Felix for a moment, but did not elaborate further. He did, however, turn back to the young Cathar. "As fate would have it, I am on a mission ordained by the right hand of our Vicelord. Our destinations are the same. So, the choice is yours. You can find private transport to the Smuggler's Moon, or I can take you myself. The choice is yours."

Felix Aquila || Zerei

 

[Zerei]

Her pale blue gaze turned to the younger man with something like…sympathy?

“A worthy goal, if you speak truth,” she murmured. “But…I have found that I am not one for galactic causes. It is selfish of me, perhaps, but I believe I am more useful on a ground-level. I have battered my skull too often on the grand visions of others. But…I can help one person at a time where those grand visionaries often lose track of the vulnerable…”

…the brink of war…

Something landed heavy in her heart. For a lifetime of fighting and – if these two were to be believed – a thousand years and beyond…and still there was no peace to be had. Had Blaze died still longing for that simple life? Comfort? Companionship? Or had he earned himself a moment of calm? The galaxy had owed him that much, at least.

Zerei bowed her most formal of salutations, perhaps a bit lower and longer than strictly necessary. But it gave her a moment to work past the sudden knot in her throat.

“I would be most grateful for transport to Nar Shaddaa,” she said, straightening. “My old Master always said, ‘When lost, start at the beginning.’ I do not think one can actually be more lost than I seem to be, at this moment.”

Her smile struggled a little, but kept its place. “I will tell you all I can…but if what you say is true…then I am nothing but history to you, and of no use whatsoever.”

History.

A thought struck her between the eyes with a cold needle of dread.

“…this…this might seem odd…but how complete are the records of… …that period in history?”

She could find out what happened to him.

But…does it matter? You can do nothing, now.

But…but perhaps I could learn if he found some happiness.

Without you?

Yes. Without me. That was the only way it was ever going to happen.

“I…I would like to know how…how things ended up….” she finished, lamely. "...to...to my...my friends."

Felix Aquila Kyyrk

 

[Felix Aquila]

R E C O V E R Y ​

Tag: Zerei / Kyyrk
Location: Aquila Manor, Jixuan Desert, Ryloth.

The Younger man would nod, he understood that there was sometimes a point where dealing with events on a Macro level got tiring, such battles were tasked to the young and those with the energy to see them to their conclusion. Felix would see the solemn expression painted across the woman's face and felt dismay for her position. There was little to be gained from the revelation that all you knew was lost, but there perhaps was some good, some purpose of it to be made in the future. What happens next would be where she decided to place herself, what goal she decided to undertake.

"Seems to me that the problem isn't the lofty goal, so much that its been the lofty goals of others. It may be too much too soon now, but I'd think about that. The opportunity that's presenting itself to you now is one few are ever handed. You would be surprise how much learning a little about history can shape the future."

Felix was attempting to console her, but he found himself failing. Normally there was something he could do, but seeing as how she had decided to take her path to another world, and Kyyrk had offered her a lift, Felix would be happy for that offer to be taken. Nodding as she made her decision. But thinking as she asked for information on the history of her people.

The young man would contemplate for a moment, before moving to grab a datapad and communicator from a drawer nearby, holding them out to her. "If you take these, Kyyrk and I will be able to keep in contact with you. Records of wars gone by were pretty stringent, but its more a matter on whether or not it can be recovered. If you can give me dates, times, names and places to help me narrow what I'm looking for. I'll send you anything I find through to one of these devices. But, in return, if you ever find yourself in trouble or lost. Don't hesitate to contact one of us."

It was a simple trade, but the chance to finally do something actionable Felix would all but leap on.
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