Private Dark Echoes

[Kahlil Noble]

"It is possible."

More often than not a Jedi's weapon was what a Sith was tasked with retrieving to prove their worth. He'd never had a lightsaber as a Sith for that exact reason. He wasn't sure if he could actually claim one when he was a boy.

"They might not want to help, but I wouldn't deny them the chance. Sometimes it's in the face of adversity that people shine the brightest."

Valery Noble | Shan Pavond

 

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

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Outfit: Epicanthix Outfit | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond

"They might not want to help, but I wouldn't deny them the chance. Sometimes it's in the face of adversity that people shine the brightest."

Valery smiled at that and dipped her head to both of them, "The threat of the Maw is also gone, and the Aruzans have since joined the Alliance. There might be no better time than now to ask for their help." Still, there was a chance that they'd associate Valery with the doom that came for this village, and she didn't like that risk at all. Especially if they were open to assisting the Jedi otherwise. So with a smile, she looked between the two.

"You two should lead the conversation with the Aruzans. I don't want to scare them."

She could still join and sit back a little, or maybe she could investigate the town itself a bit more. Use psychometry on parts of it that seemed safe enough for that ability.

One way or another, they had to learn more.

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan nodded carefully to the pair of them. He was mostly trying to look out for the Aruzans, perhaps out of paranoia. If they thought it was best to ask the people for help, then thats what he was going to do. He wasn't too sure what to ask them however...Perhaps he should ask about the Jedi before anything else.

"I assume we should stick together, instead of splitting up to find out information?"

The Mirialan raised an eyebrow at the Jedi Masters, wanting to make sure before he headed off to get information. There were three main thoughts in his mind of what he wanted to find out. Who was the Jedi. Who was the Aruzan Sith he fought. And what had happened here properly. Those were what he saw as the most important things right now. He was honestly grateful for this. It was helping to distract him in more ways than one, and he wasn' worrying about his own problems.

Kahlil Noble Valery Noble

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"This seems to be tied most to you, Shan. We'll stick with you to help where we can, but I think it might be good for you to lead this. Training, while also helping to solve what happened." Not everything a Jedi did involved either fighting or healing. There were plenty more that Jedi did, and this seemed as good as any to get him to learn more about it. No one knew what happened here this day, but there was a chance to learn.

"We've got your back."

Valery Noble | Shan Pavond

 

[Valery Noble]

Epicanthix Colony

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Outfit: Epicanthix Outfit | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond

Valery nodded in agreement with Kahlil and turned to Shan, "There's another town very close to this one. Some of the inhabitants might have even seen the chaos here from afar, so it's a good place to start. Maybe we can find other relatives or just... any information about her and go from there." Then they'd surely find a good opportunity to heal the crystal as well, though she was going to leave that to Shan and her husband.

Valery then gestured for the direction, and if either one of them were to use their senses, they'd feel the town as well. Gentle and peaceful in the Force, like its pacifistic people. What happened here years ago was no longer affecting the Aruzans greatly, but Valery did wonder how it'd affect them if they brought it up again.

There was only one way to find out.

"We'll follow your lead, Shan."

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan gave a short nod towards Valery and Kahlil. This was something he felt responsible for either way. He just took in a deep breath, trying to calm his nerves. Finding answers was what they were here for, but he also hoped they'd be able to heal any old wounds. Though from the looks of it, it didn't appear to be something he had to worry about. The people felt peaceful, as he was making his way towards the town. There might be people from this town that were staying there now, that could possibly know the answers. Either way, investigating was his job now. Trying to figure out who to talk to first....

The best place to start in his eyes was to see if they had some form of mayor or formal leadership he could talk to. That would be better than just talking to random Aruzans on the street. The Mirialan kept his focus on asking the questions, instead of letting his mind wander. Part of him wanted to heal the crystal here and now, but he knew it wouldn't be a smart idea. He needed to learn as much as he could about the Aruzan Sith beforehand. Once he found a mayor, or someone of similar position, he'd just ask them about the place they've just visited. What happened. And whether or not they knew about the Jedi who had died.

Kahlil Noble Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Aruza

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Outfit: Epicanthix Outfit | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond

The moment the three Jedi entered town, they drew plenty of attention to themselves. People stopped whatever they were doing to take a look, and the kids especially seemed amazed. They didn't often get visitors in a small town like this, and two of the three faces were familiar ones all across the Alliance. It wasn't difficult for them to understand that Shan must be a Jedi as well, and likely a student of the two.

The attention they got luckily helped them out too — a tall but rather skinny Aruzan in his late 50's or so appeared from a larger building at the center of town, and approached the Jedi to answer their questions.

"Welcome, Masters Jedi," the man began with a rather hoarse voice. "Of course we know what happened. Everybody on Aruza knows," he said with a deep frown before he looked at Valery — he clearly recognized her. Valery just frowned as well and stayed silent by her husband's side.

"A young girl was driven to commit a terrible crime, and made her own people kill each other. Only two people survived that night, I'm afraid. Why do you wish to know?" he asked, his eyes now turning to Kahlil, as he seemed to be the more experienced of the group with Valery choosing not to speak.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"We found a corpse of a Jedi left out. It truthfully had me curious." As to why, really. If the other bodies were taken care of, why was he left to rot? Kahlil kept a passive smile regardless, but he truthfully wasn't too amused that that had happened. That any of this happened was bad enough. He glanced to Valery, then to Shan. He'd ask the rest of the questions, he was sure. But he did want an answer to that.

Valery Noble | Shan Pavond

 

[Shan Pavond]

She made everyone kill each other? That sounded a lot like what the Sith had tried to do with that Ashalan to make them kill Shan. That made Shan a bit more unsure about if sparing the Aruzan had been the right choice...No. No. Of course, it had been the right choice. She was still redeemable. She could have easily struck down Shan, but that never happened. They both managed to survive which was important at the end of the day. He still needed to figure out how he was going to bring her back to the Light...Though that might be much, much easier said than done at the end of the day.

"I...believe I may have fought against the Girl. I want to know more about her. Who were the survivors? And who buried the bodies? Was it you, or did someone else do it? I apologise if I'm asking too many questions. It's just...I really want to be able to help this girl. That just means I need to know more about her as well."

Shan sighed afterwards, running a hand through his hair. It was clear that he wanted to figure out how best to help the Aruzan people but it was going to be a lot harder than he had expected. There wasn't any easy solution to this but that's what made it clear what he had to do. Shan had to put as much effort as he could into this task.

Kahlil Noble Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Aruza

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Outfit: Epicanthix Outfit | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond

The older man turned to Kahlil, a little suspicious about the intent behind that question, but he answered regardless, "We have not found a dead Jedi. We haven't returned recently because we do not wish to disturb the dead even more." He offered a smile, but there was something to his tone and demeanor that sent a shiver down Valery's spine, and she was certain that Kahlil had noticed it as well.

<He's hiding something.>

The man then turned to Shan and nodded, "The survivors are a husband and wife who owned the one house with a basement. They managed to hide there, and the flames never reached them. They now live in our town," he said but without offering for a meeting. That wasn't his decision to make, or perhaps he simply didn't want the Jedi to meet with them. "The people of our town worked together to bury the bodies after Nyaeli murdered them."

"It's very noble of you to want to help her, kid, but she is pure evil."

 

[Kahlil Noble]

<He likely is. There is still a mistrust here.>

And he wasn't going to pry. They knew the girl it seemed, more than just the fact that she'd gotten everyone killed. And yet, he could already tell there was more to the story. There was nothing more frightening than a child with the only desire to live and nothing left to loose. He knew first hand just how terrible it could be to be stuck with a Sith who wouldn't give you another choice.

Asides, he wanted to see how Shan would handle this. The people thought she was evil. Would he be able to keep trying to help her?

Valery Noble | Shan Pavond

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan reflexively clenched his fists when the man called Nyaeli evil. At least he had a name to put to the face. He obviously felt frustrated over the man's words but he let out a small sigh afterwards. Trying to calm himself down, it made sense why the man would see things like this. And Shan knew why he saw things differently. He might have been biased, and he might have been naive about it, but he wasn't going to believe the man whatsoever. The Mirialan just gave the man a short nod, putting a small smile on his face.

"I can understand why you'd believe that Sir. However, I've seen someone who was created from Sith magic be able to do good things. And someone who's meant to do good attempt to attack the innocent. I promise you, that I am going to do everything I can to redeem her. She's...angry. I know that clearly. It's my personal goal to try and help her get over this anger, and start to make amends. I know there's nothing she'll be able to do to earn forgiveness...but I believe there's good in here."

He gave another nod once he had finished speaking, keeping the smile on his face. As much as Shan was frustrated over the situation, he knew he couldn't take it on the man. They were innocent in all of this, or at least that's what Shan believed since unlike Valery and Kahlil, he didn't feel like the man was lying.

Valery Noble Kahlil Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Aruza

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Outfit: Epicanthix Outfit | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond

<I just hope it's not something that will cause us trouble later.>

They were here with the best intentions, but she had this weird feeling that the Aruzans weren't going to be as cooperative as she had hoped. It wasn't something she could entirely blame them for, given what happened, but it made it so much more difficult to do something. Helping Nyaeli, to Valery wasn't just about this one Aruzan — it could end up saving many more lives that would have otherwise fallen victim to her.

Shan seemed to feel the same way, though his focus was more on the girl herself. Valery was very proud about his stance, as it was the true stance of a Jedi, and she felt certain that Kahlil felt the same way.

"Good in her?" he scoffed. "You Jedi always see things that aren't there? Kid, she murdered an entire town's worth of people. This isn't about forgiveness, it's about justice. She should be behind bars the rest of her life," he said, clearly with personal anger in his tone.

"But if you three want to investigate and find her, be my guest. Just don't bring more trouble to our world, hm?" He asked, and his eyes very much focused on Valery, who frowned deeply and remained quiet.

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"Was it truly her, I wonder?"

Kahlil mused the question aloud, specifically to watch the town elder as he did. He already had an inkling on what might've happened. The Jedi who died wasn't one who could've been taken down by the crazed mind of a child turned pure evil like this man seemed to believe she was. And, he had faith in what Shan had told him thus far of Nyaeli. There was something more going on. Something they were still figuring out.

"We'll figure this out. Is it alright if we have some supplies for a pyre, though? Our fallen comrade has been denied his rest for too long being left to rot in the street as he was."

Valery Noble | Shan Pavond

 

[Shan Pavond]

Shan focused on his breathing. It made sense to him, why the man would think that of Nyaeli. Perhaps he was biased, and blinded in his belief that she could be redeemed. It was just...frustrating to say the least. He wanted to be able to help her, and this man was making it more difficult than he had expected. At the very least, he knew her name. That was useful knowledge. And he was knowing more of what happened now in this situation. Though he was still trying to figure out what happened to the Jedi. Was it her mental abilities that had killed them? Or perhaps someone else would have struck down the Jedi? Hm...

He opened his mouth, getting ready to say some form of comeback to the man about how the Jedi saw things that weren't there. Planning to say that the Jedi weren't blinded by their anger...but decided better of it. If his plan for the future was to happen, he needed to stay on somewhat positive terms with the people of this planet. It was still frustrating but it was going to be worth it if everything went to plan, as Shan instead just gave the man a short and curt nod, saying just a simple calm sentence.

"I hope I will be able to show you the error of your beliefs Sir. Thank you for your time."

Valery Noble Kahlil Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Aruza

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Outfit: Epicanthix Outfit | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond

"What are you implying, Master Jedi?" the man asked, clearly agitated by Kahlil now. But he was quick to realize that it wouldn't help, so he let out a frustrated sigh instead, "We do not know if the Jedi was killed by her. It happened after her outburst, but he was killed by a lightsaber."

Valery tilted her head, "Strange, since we believe his lightsaber is the one Nyaeli took. So she wouldn't have been able to kill him with one." She turned to the others to see if they had any theories. If the man was telling the truth, she doubted that any Aruzan had killed the Jedi - they didn't exactly have lightsabers.

So what happened?

"As for the pyre, we'll offer you firewood for it. If you want to talk to any of the people here, feel free to do so. Just respect their wishes if they don't want to talk about what happened as well, please," he requested and Valery could understand that. She turned to Shan and Kahlil and let out a soft sigh.

"Where do we begin?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"The pyre. Knight Volun has been denied his rest too long." Kahlil glanced to the two as they stepped out, glancing around the street for the moment before focusing up on where he could see for firewood and such. That's what he wanted to focus on.

"Come, help me with that, yes?"

Valery Noble | Shan Pavond

 

[Shan Pavond]

Could Nyaeli have convinced Volun to take himself out? Shan wasn't too sure. It was most definitely a possibility of something that could have happened. At least in his mind, though he did assume that a Jedi Knight might have a better mental defence than Shan had. Or maybe Shan was just more talented in defending his mind than he expected. Either way, he turned his attention over towards Kahlil and Valery once Valery asked what was next.

"I also think we should try and see if we can find the basement if we can. Something seems strange about them being the only survivors if I'm being honest...Plus I doubt they'd be willing to speak to us, unless we have some form of evidence that we can use as a basis for our questioning. Just going off assumptions is likely to make them close up to us, no?"

After that little statement, Shan got ready to go and get the wood for a pyre, rolling his shoulders back afterwards. There was a lot on his mind again now, and he needed to focus on the task at hand to distract himself.

Kahlil Noble Valery Noble

 

[Valery Noble]

Aruza

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Outfit: Epicanthix Outfit | Wedding Ring
Appearance: Link
Weapons: Blasters | Lightsaber
Tag: Kahlil Noble Shan Pavond

"It depends on how you approach them. I'm not too suspicious about their survival when others didn't, not with how unpredictable Nyaeli seems to be. You could ask questions but you don't need to make it feel like an interrogation. Especially if we don't have anything to hold against them." Valery then joined her husband and Shan to collect firewood, so they could build up a small pyre for the fallen Jedi.

Once it was completed, she reached out and gently lifted the body off the ground with the Force, so no part about him would be disturbed. He was gently placed down on top of the wood, before she glanced to Kahlil. "I can start the fire, but is there anything we'd like to add before we do it?"

"Then, perhaps it's time to explore some more. One of us could go to that basement while the others ask around some more? Or do you want to stay together?"

 

[Kahlil Noble]

"I think, for now, we can speculate and plan later." Kahlil turned his gaze to the both of them. He wasn't smiling, not this time. Instead he turned his focus to tending to the long forgotten corpse of their brethren. "He's been long part of the Force since his death, but we already failed to check in on him until now. We can at least give him our full attention for this moment after forgetting him for so long."

Valery Noble | Shan Pavond