Private Echoes and Mysteries

[Jas Katis]

DAGOBAH | SWAMP
TAGS: Jonyna Si

---

The ripple Jas felt through the Force was a curious one, it felt like a call summoning him. But it wasn't that. Regardless of what he felt, it was strong and the echo reached far. He immediately organised a shuttle and set off to follow this ripple in the Force, though he was unsure if this was just for him, or if others had felt it as well. He adjusted his black coat and sat back in his seat. His lightsaber sat snugly in a little sling he made for it inside of his long coat.

The trip luckily did not take too long and he calmly stepped out of the shuttle. "Go. I shall summon you if I need you." He ordered the pilots, who nodded and took off. Total silence surrounded the Pureblood, only the faint sounds of the wildlife around him managed to crack through. The Force was heavy on this unknown planet. He did not recognize the name, but apparently it held some importance from centuries long past. With a deep breath, Jas' eyes opened and took in his surroundings properly. The smell wasn't ideal.

Long, calm strides carried the tall Pureblood deeper into the swamp and fog. He wasn't sure what to expect or find, but he followed the trail the Force had seemingly laid out for him. A heavy Darkness could be felt a distance from him, drawing his curiosity. Lighting cracked through the sky, quickly summoning a heavy rain which drew a growl from the Sith as he pulled his hood yp to shelter his face and hair.

What could the Force want from him in a place such as this?

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Jas Katis

Jonyna didn't often get the chance to follow in her mother's footsteps nowadays. Her job as the Sentinel of Harmony took precedent, but today she had a mission. Dagobah, a planet normally unassuming and out of the way, it held a historical significance nowadays, even if that history was from her own era. Jonyna always wondered if her and Farmboy would have gotten along, but she kinda doubted it.

And she was certain of one thing, based on her research.

She would've hated Yoda.

The Reaper settled into the low swamp, Jonyna electing to go on foot despite the heavy rain and storms. Swamps felt like home, and she could leap from tree to tree rather than get her feet wet. Agility and athletic skill kept her dry today. She had a mission to complete after all.

With the Sith Order on the move once more, she had a plan to set up a listening station on the planet. Normally such a job would be an SIA job, but after Coruscant, the SIA was still under investigation for internal leaks.

At least...

That was the original plan. A shadow had carte blanche to investigate things involving the Dark Side, and...

She felt something. Something off in the distance.

 

[Jas Katis]

The Pureblood's steps came to a halt when another presence rippled through the Force. Not just any person, but a Jedi. A Master too, if their power was any indication. The rain and thunder had hidden their arrival, but their presence stood in contrast to the Darkness swirling around him. An amused grin spread as he continued on his walk, only shifting slightly to cross his path with the Jedi's. He hadn't encountered their kind in a while.

He did not bother to suppress his own signature in the Force. They would be able to feel the Pureblood even from that distance, and presumably slow down to keep an eye on him. After all, Sith borders were just a stone's throw away from this system. Explaining how he wasn't part of the Order was going to be amusing to say the least. When they finally drew close, Jas raised his hand and gripped a branch on the Jedi's route through the trees, waiting for the prefect moment to rip it down and throw off their path of approach.

"Playing in the trees is dangerous, Jedi." He spoke with a rather calm voice. His hooded, black figure stood in the center of a small clearing, only his golden eyes fixated on the new arrival. His hands were by his sides with no threat or sense of danger, at least for the moment. A couple decades ago, he would have charged at them with no hesitation. But now? The Pureblood had learned, he knew better than that even if he was the Jedi's mortal enemy. "One wrong step can get you hurt on a planet as bizarre as this." He continued, turning to face their direction fully.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Jas Katis

A lesser traveler would be thrown off by the sudden shift in the branches. A Dathar like her however, a Denik, knew how to traverse the jungle without worry. Her tailed reached out, grabbing a new branch and bringing her to a halt.

A sith.

One hand gripped Liz, as she snarled at the sight. "You've never met a Cathar, have you? We play in the trees for a living. What's your deal, helmet head?"

 

[Jas Katis]

To his surprise, the Jedi wasn't only quick to recover from his little trick, but she possessed a unique physiology as well. A Cathar... he hadn't seen one of them in a very, very long time. A chuckle escaped him at her remark as he reached up to pull back his hood, revealing his crimson features and striking gaze. "I can ask you the same thing, Jedi." He remarked, resting his hands on his hips.

The situation did not sit right with him. He had a gut feeling that she possibly wasn't here for the same reason he was. But this was merely speculation, the bigger question was whether she would give him any useful feedback with his questions.

"I felt a ripple through the Force. A call... or echo, rather. Is this what brought you here as well?" He asked calmly, though with a firm voice. If it was not needed, he would prefer not to engage. No reason to do so unless he was pressed. "Or are you here suspecting me to be an agent of the Empire just around the corner?" He remarked with an amused grin. He wasn't going to pass this chance up to have a bit of fun at the Jedi's expense. Cat jokes would simply be low-hanging fruit, her unpleasant disposition made it look like she had that on the regular.

"Afraid to get your paws wet?"

He had to at least get that in.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Jas Katis

"Would that be an incorrect suspision? A sith like you, behind the boundaries of the sith's territory, looking for ripples in the Force. I think you'll need to do a better job convincing me you aren't part of the order that controls this world." She kept her hand on her sword, waiting for the moment to strike. If he wasn't part of the Sith Order, then maybe she could reason with him. "...but if you aren't, then perhaps we could work out a deal. I help you with whatever you were doing, and you forget I was here..."

 

[Jas Katis]

The amused grin did not depart from the Pureblood's features as he listened to the Jedi. This was definitely going to break the monotony he had been dealing with for the last few months. "It would most certainly be a fair suspicion to have, however it couldn't be further from the truth." He remarked as he reached into his pocket to withdraw a cigarette.

He proceeded to step into a patch with a decent coverage from the rain and snapped his fingers. A small flame manifested on his thumb, allowing him to light his small vice and flick the flame away. "Honestly, you shouldn't jump to conclusions to quickly. It's unbecoming of you Jedi." He teased with a sidelong glance at the woman dangling in the tree. "Hanging like a Kowokian monkey-lizard in the trees also doesn't help your situation." He continued with a low chuckle.

Was this more fun than the spearhead of battle? Certainly not, but it beat any paperwork and admin work he had lined up.

"As for you proposal..." He let out a plume of smoke as he extended his free hand to his side. "I think we can discuss the terms in a far more productive manner, wouldn't you say?" His lightsaber snapped to his palm and a crimson blade ignited with a heavy, droning 'snap-hiss'. "No need to make this boring." He commented, taking another drag of his cigarette as he watched her.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Jas Katis

This sith wasn't part of the order, but wanted to fight her anyways.

Typical. She couldn't go one day without finding someone who wanted her dead. And yet, this one seemed only to want her fight her out of boredom. Great, now she was his evening entertainment. Might as well put on a show.

The wind began to stir with a rhythm, as Jonyna ignited her own ruby saber in one hand, leaping from one branch to another, sliding across it to get behind the sith, all the while keeping her offhand on the grip of Liz. She needed to get the jump on this one, she couldn't risk getting caught up in a drag out brawl. She had a mission to complete.

 

[Jas Katis]

To the Pureblood's delight she obliged to his invitation, even if this was nothing more than a sparring session... potentially. If she tried to take him down, he wouldn't hesitate to turn her into a rug. She wasted no time in leaping from tree to tree but he had no intention of chasing after her, at least not in the conventional sense. With a mighty leap, he landed on a branch with a gentle, albeit harsh, touchdown. He was never one for subtlety.

All the while, he held his cigarette in his right hand as his left extended his blade towards her. A grin showed off his pointed teeth, though it was far from malicious. "I must thank you for humouring me, Jedi." With immense speed he leapt and dashed at her with a swing to test her defences. His footwork was heavy, though his precision and solidity in his movements indicated that he wasn't a novice to managing his bulk and style.

"The last time I crossed blades with someone, it was a pathetic Sith assassin from the Maw." He struck again with a swing, cleaving through the trees and branches surrounding them. All the while he puffed away. He had yet to see whether she was worth dedicating his full attention. For now, he was neither underestimating nor overestimating her. He was gauging her. With a flick of his fingers, he yanked a number of vines across the tree to try and knock her off.

"Hardly comparable to the talent you seem to possess." He practically snarled as he followed after, harassing her with multiple strikes, stabs and swings.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Jas Katis

This one was quick. Much like her own style, he kept to playing the aggressive stance, keeping her on the backfoot. At first she played along, blocking with her own saber and deftly leaping from branch to branch, seeming to do so entirely on instinct. Any time he would cut of destroy a branch or vine, she would immediately find a new one to leap to.

She needed to lull into a sense of security. She couldn't fall into the same-

THERE!

With a blinding speed, propelled by the Force, she drew Sally, slashing at his blade with the cortosis laden blade, before pushing forward and slashing at his chest with her ruby saber, enhancing it's power with pyrokinesis, the blade trailing a stream of flame with every strike.

 

[Jas Katis]

For the moment she was rolling with his hits, keeping him at bay or outright defending from his onslaught. It didn't take a genius to figure out that she was biding her time, most likely searching for a gap in his attacks. Apparently she found her gap, however her attack came in a very unconventional form of a Cortosis blade shorting his lightsaber out. The Pureblood blinked in surprise, but didn't have much time to react as a lightsaber blade barrelled towards his chest.

One hand outstretched to push her blade away with the Force, while his other hand blasted a powerful blast straight at her chest to shove her away. With a powerful jump he touched down on another branch and slipped his lightsaber back into his jacket.

The cigarette had been dropped.

A growl rumbled in Jas' throat as he leapt forward, this time armed with only his bare hands and the Force. "Cortosis? Sneaky little trick." He remarked with a hint of curiosity in his voice. He let loose with another push of the Force to disrupt her before attempting to close the distance between them. His lightsaber would be out for a few moments, for the moment he had to make do with the old-fashioned approach. Bare hands never failed.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Jas Katis

The blast sent her back, far enough she had to redirect to a new branch and find her footing once more. Her goal had been achieved though, only for a moment. "I was a rebel before I was a jedi. I'm full of sneaky tricks." Jonyna quipped back, as she watched him barrel towards her again, fists prepped to turn this into a brawl. Not that she was interested in that, even if she knew she had a few hundred pounds on him. Still, she wanted to keep her distance.

As that second blast of Force came, she pulled the water under them of the swamp up to meet it, the wave of Force crashing into the sudden wave of water, before Jonyna leapt into the air, over the rising water, and pulled her ion blaster out, firing a trio of shots at the armored sith. If only she could get one hit on him, she could disable his armor, or even the sith himself.

She wasn't interested in murder today. Really, she just wanted to get her mission down. He was the one who was egging for a fight.

 

[Jas Katis]

The sudden rush of water between them was a move he never would have predicted, this Jedi had a respectable control over the elements if she could perform such a feat. Before he could react to the distraction, the Cathar was sailing through the air with a pistol in hand. An eyebrow raised at the sight of it, but he did little more than outstretch his arms as the ion bolts zipped towards him.

The Force swirled and wrapped around him, harmlessly absorbing the attacks as a toothy grin stretched along his features. "The wall of water was more impressive." He remarked, channelling the power of the ion bolts to his fingertips as a barrage of lightning shot out towards the Jedi. Using the sudden attack and blinding light, Jas zoomed towards the Jedi at a blistering speed with the Force wrapped around his fists. He closed in to a dangerously close distance and began to launch a barrage of kicks and punches. It took a lot to make his arms and legs resistant to her weapons, but he deemed it a worthwhile exchange.

His speed was incredible, however even in this assault he was clearly pulling his punches. He had no desire to truly hurt this Jedi.

But the grin along his features indicated the thrill of the whole spectacle. In the midst of their dance, his hilt snapped into his palm and ignited to deliver a hard blow against her own saber. Using the attack's momentum, Jas vaulted over the Jedi and delivered another blast towards her, hoping to force her to the ground.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Jas Katis

Tutaminis...

She should've expected it, but the ion bolts were worth a shot. A shot that seemed to have missed, instead charging him with energy. The crack of lightning would've taken a lesser jedi off guard, but Jonyna only smirked as she pushed herself to go as fast as she could, using her tail to draw Liz, the blade that had protected her time and time again. Sneaky little tricks. That's what he called it. She didn't even need to draw the full length to force the lightning into her blade, the crystal in the hilt naturally attracting the bolts to it. The ion blaster returned to her coat as she switched her grip on the katana from her tail to her hand, finally drawing the full length to block that first punch with a sharpened blade of songsteel.

All she could do really was keep her distance. She could tell, even with her strength, she wasn't interested in getting lost in a brawl with this one. Still, she couldn't avoid the odd strike. A roundhouse aimed at her head was instead met with a rising leg, the woman showing her own flexibility as she let shin with knee, before drawing back and going to stab the sith in his chest, his own lightning cracking across the blade back at him, now charged with the light side of the Force.

 

[Jas Katis]

Rather unsurprisingly the Jedi managed to defend herself from his torrent of lightning, he expected nothing less from someone of her calibre. She countered his onslaught masterfully with impressive defence and even redirected his lightning to her blade to use against him. His push through the Force didn't deter her for long as she twisted around to try and plunge her crackling blade into his chest.

It would never reach its intended target.

The Pureblood's palm intercepted the tip and the power drew from her blade, only to be harmlessly blasted into the ground next to them through his own weapon. The Force twisted through him to halt her blade to protect him and stretched further to curl around her weapon and arm, an attempt to keep her from attacking him further. A bright grin rested along his features as he extinguished his weapon and slid it back into his jacket. "You fight well, Master Jedi." He complimented her with a nod. Gently he ushered her blade away from him as he took a step back.

"I have not had this much fun in a decade." He chuckled, pulling his hood back up to shelter from the rain once more. "I shall help you with your mission. Any chance to sabotage the Empire is a good time for me." He offered as he helped himself to his little vice once more. "In return, however, I ask that you help me with my own conundrum as well. There must be a reason the Force would have led me here just for you to arrive." He turned to look at her as he took a puff.

Jonyna Si

 

[Jonyna Si]

TAG: Jas Katis

Fun?

She certainly wasn't going to call this 'fun'. Fun was going to the club, dancing her heart out. Fun was having a nice date with her Lyrana, and a night of passion after. Fun was training and sparring with someone who she knew well enough to banter with.

She didn't know this sith, and she wasn't really interested in yet another sith treating her like a plaything.

But if he was going to help her complete her mission, she knew better than to argue. "...alright. You lead the way, then we'll deal with my thing."