Different Perspectives & Reintroductions

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Tracking down [member="Jaron Lesan"], a face from the past​

Undisclosed base, Arbra​

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The jungle world of Arbra, in a way, was similar to Virgilia, the planet Kaalia once called home. The lush green that was all around her as she trekked through them summoned the memories she had only recently regained. Many years ago now, when she was excommunicated, her own past had been hidden from her through the doing of the Order of Ren, but with the help of fellow Sith Lady [member='Taeli Raaf'] she was now able to recall everything perfectly once more. That fact was what had brought her to the planet she now walked.

With her memories returned to her, Kaalia had begun tracking down people from her past. Although meeting those who remained with the Ren was not something she was very interested in, those who had left the order, whatever their reason may have been, were another story. Many names led to a dead end or the discovery that they still served the First Order, but after days that turned to weeks of tracking down one particular lead the woman finally got a breakthrough; the supposed location of a once-Ren by the name of Jaron Lesan, her once yet short-lived master. The evidence was almost pin-point exact, which was reason enough to head down to Arbra to see for herself.

In order to keep any potential assailants at bay, be it sentient or non-sentient lives, Kaalia was not unarmed. From her hips hung two lightsabers, clearly made to accompany each other. Sturdy boots, a pair of rugged trousers and a long-sleeved shirt, all made to withstand the environment she was in, made up her outfit. She had considered wearing her armor, but in order to not immediately seem hostile to Jaron she decided against it.

Using the coordinates she had gotten her hands on, the redhead conquered the jungle to arrive at a base of sorts, and as she reached out to the Force around her she was confident this was the place she had been looking for. Without hesitation she came closer, making sure that those around her knew exactly who she was in the web of the Force. She wasn't here with ill intent, rather she wished to reconnect with a face from the past and see if moments she never witnessed first-hand could perhaps be uncovered.

 

[Jaron Lesan]

Jaron had not been able to sleep. Sanctuary Rock was quiet, empty, and reminded him of what he was missing. Short sighs escaped his lips as his hand wiped across his weary face. How was it that she had that much power over him. Jaron had been alone for over three years, and after one meeting he found it unsatisfactory. One mission, and one chance meeting had him wishing he wasn’t so loyal to finishing a mission. Yet there he was, wishing for his mission to be over and to escape the home which was beginning to feel like a prison. Who was it that kept him awake... the shifter and daughter of the one man he had pledged his loyalty to.

His sleepless musings were interupted by a presence. Jaron bolted upright in his bed, and waved a hand toward one of the security monitors in his make shift room. It couldn’t be... None of his students that left ever came back, so why was this one? The First Order had not been kind to her, and Jaron hadn’t been aware until it was too late. He’d left them shortly after what happened, but he still thought Kaalia gone for good.

The image on the monitor proved otherwise.

Sliding out of his bed, Jaron grabbed a pair of loose fitting black pants to cover his lower half. He was no prude, but Jaron was not one to answer his door in the nude. Walking to the control room he got a better look at the woman he could feel waiting just outside the rock. It was definitely his student, still as pretty as ever, though rumor had always been she preferred women and was married by now. That had likely always been for the best where Jaron was concerned.

Taking in a deep breath, he opened the massive rock door she was standing in front of. Nothing was said, and if she recalled her training, or remembered his aura, she would find him. He moved to his lounge where he started water for tea and caf, whichever she preferred. Jaron was living if caf the last two days, and knew he needed a change before his insomnia drove him mad.

[member="Kaalia Pavanos"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

The base was not hard to find once you saw it. The rock-like formation it was built on and in was quite the spectacle to behold and as Kaalia approached it she couldn't help but be intrigued. Exploration and discovery had been some of het greatest interests for as long as she could remember, courtesy of her nomadic upbringing, but as the years had gone on she was left with less and less time to travel. Most of her days were either spent fulfilling her duties within the Sith Empire or spending time with her family, the latter of the two quite obviously being the preferred one. From having nothing that even came close to the notion of family, to finding someone she would eventually promise to spend the rest of her life with, to gaining a loving family in-law, to reconnecting with her own parents, the woman had truly learned how valuable they were to her.

When Kaalia approached the rock that blocked the entrance to the base, she wasn't certain what Jaron's reaction was going to be, if he was here in the first place. The presence she felt was most definitely familiar, yet it felt different from the last time she had seen him. She already knew she had been branded a traitor when she was excommunicated from the Ren, previous meetings with other once-Ren, but considering the circumstances it was fairly safe to say Jaron himself was no longer with them either. When the entranceway was cleared, however, her question was quickly answered. She was welcome.

Although remaining careful, the woman made her way through the base, letting the Force guide her steps towards where she could find the one she had been looking for. It would bring her to a lounge area, where the moment Kaalia laid her eyes on Jaron she couldn't resist the grin that forced its way onto her face. There he stood. Another face of the past that had walked a path not so different to her own towards freedom from the chains of the First Order.

"Jaron Lesan. Never in a million years did I expect to see your face again." She scoffed in some sort of disbelief. Times had changed so radically, but even under these new circumstances they had been fated to meet once more. "I never had the chance to thank you for the push you gave me all those years ago, so I suppose I am finally able to do so. Still, I cannot lie- you look like chit. Something keeping you up at night?"

Kaalia then shook her head, pulling herself back mentally. "You must be wondering why I'm here. Am I right?"

[member="Jaron Lesan"]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

“Astute as ever in your observations...” Jaron replied as Kaalia finished her greeting. “It’s good to see you again too.”

He motioned for the car or tea that had been prepared for them. It was going to be self service today. Karon poured a mug of caf for himself and started to drink it right away as he made his way to the table. Looking over the woman, it was clear she had managed to do well for herself regardless of having left the First Order. She seemed better than he did in his current state.

“You certainly are the last person I expected to see here, well maybe there a few others I’d put higher up on that list.”

Jaron set the cup on the table. Motioning for Kaalia to join him, he folded his hands afterwards.

“So, you tracked me down just to thank me in person, did you?”

[member="Kaalia Pavanos"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

"If that had been the only thing, I wouldn't have bothered," Kaalia responded, a tinge of humor present in her voice. It was a far cry from the careful, quiet young woman she was when she was brought into the Ren and directed towards Jaron for teaching, but as the years had gone on she had shed herself of her shy personality forced upon her by her nomadic Jedi upbringing to reveal her true self. "To this day I don't even know what brought you into the Ren, and I definitely don't know why or when you left. Call me overly curious, I'm trying to piece together some things from the past."

The woman made her way over to the countertop that had her choice of drink waiting for her, and after waiting for Jaron to finish pouring his caf she got herself a cup of her own. While she walked towards the table to sit down in front of him, she continued. "If it isn't too much to ask, I want to know your story. I can tell you mine in return, if you wish." Carefully the cup was set down before Kaalia pulled the chair back somewhat by its back rest to give her enough room to sit down herself. After watching the steam rise from her cup, she took a sip of the hot liquid and quickly swallowed it down to prevent it from scalding her tongue. "My memories were altered when I was excommunicated, but with some help I have been able to restore them. Now I am trying to fill the gaps I never witnessed, if that makes any sense." The cup remained in her hands, her palms and the inside of her fingers almost completely covering it.

"I have been tracking down people from the past to see if I can find them again, but most are either likely to be dead or still with the Ren. Seeing they don't like me very much, I doubt they'll want to have a chat." Holding on was quickly getting quite hot and as such Kaalia set the caf back down, but not before taking another sip. "But then I found a lead that brought me to you. And, well, here I am."

[member="Jaron Lesan"]

 

[Jaron Lesan]

"Why I left the Ren... I didn't leave them... they left me."

It was a simple statement, and one that Jaron knew Kaalia would understand. While it was not exactly true in the sense of being literal, the Ren had changed so many time as some knew puppet of the supreme leader took over it was sickening. They were not the order that he had helped to found, nor had they been the same group his own master had betrayed. It was no secret that Jaron was disgruntled, so it was odd Kaalia wanted to know his story, and why he was no longer with the Ren. Her memories though, Jaron had left before they took her memories, so she may not recall.

"I was tired of being their workhorse. I scouted every world they conquered, told them how best to go about it. Several of their knights and masters were once my students, and where did that get me... nowhere. All they sought was galactic domination, and they did not care how many worlds they had to destroy to do that. Something changed when Aram left, and that is why I left. They were no longer the path to see my goals achieved. I was never loyal to the Supreme Leader, Kaalia, and had they known from the start, I would never have been alive to teach you what I did."

If her memories were coming back, then perhaps she would recall the lessons he had taught her. When it came to skills, Jaron had not taught much, but rather his lessons came in the form of sayings... wisdom... life lessons. Skills were one thing, but living in the galaxy was much more than manipulating the physical and metaphysical world through the force.

"I'm glad you found me... you're the only one of my students that has..."

Jaron sipped his caf and sat at the table.

"So... rumor is you're married... yes?"

[member="Kaalia Pavanos"]

 

[Kaalia Pavanos]

Kaalia chuckled somewhat and then nodded. The order they had both once been a part of was quite adept at disappointing and disillusioning its members, which was hardly a good trait. Although they had both gone a different direction after their exit, the sting still felt the same. While calmly sipping away at her caf, she listened to Jaron's story, only responding when he finished. "Yes, that sounds relatable." One more sip was taken before formulating the rest of her reaction.

"They left me too, although in a much more literal sense. Kicked me out, to put it bluntly. In all honesty, I'm lucky to be alive." That blessing was often counted, especially considering the upswing her life had seen after it happened. "I was desperate at first, then when that faded I stayed for the people I worked with. The small few I almost considered to be family. Their supreme leader was just another head of a nation to me, always was." The woman smirked and shook her head at that. "I suppose we were both pretty bad Ren, huh. Should've known that, considering you taught me the Sith code of all things." They both would've been in a much worse position if anyone had found out about it back then. "By all accounts, I was a Sith before I even considered myself to be."

"Not the worst caf I've had."

Jaron seemed grateful Kaalia had found him. In a way, she could understand now that she had taught others herself. Watching them grow was a satisfying sight, it let you know the wisdoms you had accrued wouldn't be lost to time when your time came. Still, she had nothing to say about it. She had come here out of her own doing, after all.

The question that followed had the woman raise an eyebrow at Jaron, however. "Been keeping tabs on me?" She took another sip of her caf to take a moment to think on how he had found out. Darth Avacyn and Kaalia Pavanos were, to any being who she didn't completely trust, completely different people. It was to ensure the safety of her family in case any of her enemies decided they were an easy target. "Well, since you know me as Kaalia, I suppose it wasn't the most difficult thing to find out." At this point, after all the both of them had been through individually, she decided to trust him. One of the gloves she wore to get through the jungle was pulled off by pulling at each finger one by one until it was loose enough to pull off entirely. Her hand was revealed, and around her finger was a ring.

"I met her when I was still with the Ren, her name is Ishana, she was a starfighter pilot for the First Order back then. When I left she retired from duty and came with me." Kaalia's tone suddenly became a lot softer, as if thinking of her wife was enough to make her a bit starstruck even after the years they had been together already. "She's the most wonderful woman I have ever met and will ever meet. She's the reason I fight. I could talk about her for days, but I will spare you the details. I wouldn't want to keep you here that long." A modest laugh followed the statement.

"Now that I have told you, though," the redhead continued, her demeanor and tone turning much more serious, "you must know that most people who know this face don't know the name Kaalia and most definitely don't know I have any family to speak of. I trust you aren't compromising their safety now that you know this."

[member="Jaron Lesan"]