A New Path

[Haytham Kaze]

Where should I start?

Where should I start?

The brain or the heart? Whichever I choose, don't cancel them out.

The thoughts crossed the young Jedi's mind as he strode through the sand dunes of Tatooine. Through the Jedi Academy network, he had learned of a Force Master who he decided would be the right teacher for him. It took him a while, but he had soon dropped all of his clothes that he had once worn when he had been apart of the Galactic Republic's Jedi Order. Instead, he had adopted a more rogue outfit. A black coat and shirt along with grey pants. In the small of his back was a blaster pistol, the same blaster pistol he had used to take down a Sith Knight a long time ago and his lightsabre was hidden by the trenchcoat-esque jacket he wore.

It had been a day since he had arrived upon Tatooine. From the moment he got to one of the locations that the Force Master had been seen frequenting, he had been asking after her. He knew that it was also quite dangerous for him to do so, but nothing got someone curious than finding out that someone was asking after you.

He had told a contact that he had found on Tatooine that he would be in a corner booth, a spot that would grant him the sight of the entire room, including entrances so that he wouldn't be surprised by anything. It was also dimly lit as well, which would make someone hard pressed to actually see or recognize his young features.

Now, all he had to do was wait.

[member="Vassara Raxis"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

Location: The Cantina

Vassara was not a very easy woman to find. Melding with crowds, striking from the shadows and using all manner of measures to hide herself had been working well. But there was one or two ways and handful of folks whom always knew where she was. The Jedi academy certainly was a start and the Underground was a close second. Word had come to her that a young man had been inquiring, and so she was intrigued and now moving to inquire herself.

She had ridden on a speeder from her makeshift homestead in the desert out towards the main cantinas of Mos Eisley. With a roughspun white cloak over her frame and a set of goggles adorning her face. The cloaked sailed slightly in the wind behind her as she stepped into the cantina. The dank smell of unwashed aliens and liquor hit her first, thrusting its way into her nostrils. The next thing to hit her was the sound, lots and lots of alien folk speaking a myriad of languages.

Where is he?

She closed her eyes for a second, standing in the doorway. The force began to flow into her body, giving her a second wind, strengthening her tired muscles. The room began to fade away, piece by peace removed by the flowing currents until one remained. A corner booth.

Her eyes snaped open and she grinned, moving towards the booth.....

 

[Haytham Kaze]

From his corner of the room he eyed every single person that left the cantina, but his attention was reserved more for those that were entering after him. Those who were leaving were of no concern to him, they weren't the Master. It was as if his single goal was on locating this Force Master. It was in a way, Haytham Kaze never liked to waste time or efforts on things that could've been avoided.

It was partly why he would call himself a perfectionist and hated mistakes. Yes, he knew that mistakes were apart of learning, but if you avoided a mistake entirely, then there was nothing to be taught in that situation. He knew that traditional Jedi training would make it seem as if there was only one path if you were truly a Jedi. It was rarely so in life the ebony haired male had learned however.

Shaking a few strands of his dark hair out of his eyes, his gaze found the door and the woman entering it. There was something about her that intrigued him, but he couldn't place a figure on it as of yet. Watching her, he raised a brow wondering as to what she was doing before she started heading for his booth. As caution would necessitate, in his darkened corner he slipped the blaster pistol out of the small of his back and placed it in his lap. He made it seem as if he was rearranging himself, to be more comfortable as he brought the lower portion of the coat over his legs so as to hide the blaster pistol.

Now, if she were to walk all the way to him, he would incline his head with the faintest of smiles lingering over his lips, indicating that she may sit.

[member="Vassara Raxis"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

She came upon a table. A specific table where she could feel small amounts of force energy pulsing. This guy, or was he a kid? She opted for kid. A newbie could tell he was nervous, a little aloof with a strange smile on his lips. Vassara smiled back, letting her ice blue eyes flash with fire.

So this must be the one, she thought.

"There's no need to be shy kid. Heard someone was asking around for me? Know anything of the sort?"

Something told her that he was alone, but he might be holding a weapon. Whether by the way he sat, the way his eyes sort of darted a bit. She was in the business of spacing. In the business of spacing if you couldn't read folks, you were dead.

 

[Haytham Kaze]

There was hardly a nervous cell in his body. It was like being in the Jedi Order again, but without all of the theory and books he would've been reading it would've been immediately hands on. With a roll of his shoulders, Haytham's gray eyes looked the woman up and down as she approached him. He wasn't entirely certain what to make of her yet, but when she called him kid, she had gained a reaction.

"You wouldn't have sat down if you didn't think I was the one who was looking for you," he said. Those gray eyes of his seemed almost like they were too heavy to hold up and the easiest thing to do would be to leave them at a half-lidded height. He blinked, unsure as to how to proceed for the most part. He remained quiet for a second more before he spoke again.

This question he figured would grant him insight as to who the woman was if she deigned to answer him. Maybe not specifically who she was, but it would give him a better idea of what she was like, and how she would react in certain areas.

"Why aren't you a Jedi?" And for good measure he added, "Robes and all?"

[member="Vassara Raxis"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

Vassara nodded, kicking out a chair with her boot. She sank straight down into it, and rested her hands on the table palms down. Her eyes locked with Haythams, boring into him, allowing her concentration no respite. Everything else in the Cantina was irrelevant now. He would lead the conversation and she would follow until it was time to either give the thumbs up or thumbs down.

But a Jedi? And with Robes? Pffft

A black eyebrow shot up and cracked chapped lips tugged into a cynical smirk.

"A Jedi? Hmmmm. Who says you need robes to be a Jedi. And who says I'm not a Jedi. An individual is not defined by the dogmas of others. Robed Jedi, the type your talking about think of the world as black and white. I think of it as one big shade of grey."

That was all she would offer him for now.

"Next question, since we seem intent on learning."

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Eyes every single movement she made. Not because he was frightened or even nervous, but because he wanted to learn about her. Words were great and all, but the way a person acted or dressed could be an idea as to who they were. For a long time in his life, Haytham had been interested in trying to guess as to how people would act, or react rather before they actually did so. The Force was always a tool that could be used in such a way, but he didn't see a reason to use the Force so carelessly when one could use their own devices to get the same answer.

Besides, the Force could always be tricked, similar to how one's own senses could be tricked.

"Next question." He said in reply, perhaps too fast. There was a twinge of mocking in his tone while he maintained eye contact. Perhaps it was the fact that she had voiced her anticipation of what he was doing, but instead he released a pent up breath and spoke.

"What is it that you do? I mean, day to day. Do you investigate the numerous factions of the Dark Side and plan what you can do to hinder them? Do you fight against them when they invade a planet?" His questions were spaced out evenly, each time giving her enough time to deliver an answer if she decided to honour him with one.

[member="Vassara Raxis"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

What did she do? It was a laundry list of things. Vassara leaned back a bit, still maintaining her eye contact with the wry grin. He was reading her, she could tell from tracking his eyes. She could tell he was a bit skeptical too.

"I am an agent of the Lightside and I work for a lot of different organizations. Some I can;t reveal to you now and here, but in time and if I come to trust you."

She paused setting her thoughts gather before moving ahead.

"Most prominently I follow my gut. When I'm not running missions for the Gallactic Alliance or the Silver Jedi, I roam the galaxy and see what kind of trouble I can get into. A favorite hobby of mine is plumbing lost ruins, derelict space stations and taking long jumps into uncharted space. I like Stim-Caf... a lot. I own two different vessels, suited to their own purposes. I've set up resistance cells on Sith worlds, discovered new worlds and even once fought the now dead leader of the Primevil in a bar."

It was a long winded sentence, and she was getting thirsty. Normally water would do, but like she said, stim caf was her addiction. So she ordered one from the passing waiter and kicked back a little.

"Have you ever heard of the Wardens?"

 

[Haytham Kaze]

Haytham listened intently. A lot of the things that she was talking about, he had never particularly listened to. That was more or less because he was too intent on making the Republic's Jedi Order better, or at least trying to make it better. Exhaling another breath of air, he waited for her to finish as she spoke. Out of all of them, he was the most familiar with the Galactic Alliance, well at least, the one he had learned about in his history classes.

"I've heard of Primeval, but I know nothing about them." He shrugged. Fighting the leader of the Primeval was an achievement? He didn't even know the name of the leader of Primeval, or what they were about, though he assumed that they were almost as bad as the One Sith. His mind wandered with his thoughts, but he still listened to what she had to say. "What have you found in tombs and space stations?" He asked with a raised brow, his inquiry much more obvious with that brow rising vertically.

Then she asked him what he knew of the Wardens, or if he had heard about them.

"No."

[member="Vassara Raxis"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

"Well let me ask you whats your name and what are you about? What are you hoping to achieve, what kind of legacy will you leave?"

The conversation was getting stale. It was time to find out the specifics and stop beating about the bush. She leaned forwards, ears open and eyes locked. The force reached out from around her binding her to Haytham, allowing her t get an even deeper read on him. She had to be sure the Darkside hadn't touched him. The Darkside was something she could not allow near herself, nor tolerate in a prospective student.

 

[Haytham Kaze]

He waited for an explanation as to what the Wardens were about. He waited patiently and then she seemingly decided to not mention them and to start asking him questions. Fair enough, he supposed what with all the questions he had started to ask her, but mentioning something and then dropping it in the same breath was a waste.

"I am Haytham Kaze and I am about ending this war," he said as he eyed her. "The One Sith has terrorized this Galaxy long enough, I think, things should go back to the way they should be." He hums softly, thoughtfully as he considers the other questions. "I am hoping to achieve peace in the life time that I live in, and not one that lasts a handful of years," he said with a faint smile lingering over his lips, as if he were imagining it at that moment.

"My legacy? What do you mean? Like, children?" A frown creased his forehead as he inquired for more insight.

[member="Vassara Raxis"]

 

[RC 212]

[member="Haytham Kaze"]

The conversation had gone on long enough. Vassara was certain she could train him. His motives were correct and in line with the type of people she associated with. But where to put him? She was deep in thought about that subject. Having recently cut ties with all but the Underground there wasn't a plethora of options. She could go the way of her mentor and simply leave him with the tools to teach himself. But that was not why she was here. Something told her this one would be important. Perhaps a future Warden?

"As of right now I like what I hear. Come with me to Mandalore if you wish to begin training. I don't have any pressing matters as of yet, but when I do, I'll be certain to bring you with."