Public Fate Under the Twin Suns

[Kaila Irons]

"Agh!" Kaila winced, clutching the side of her helm when struck by a vision. The past? the future? something symbolic? She had only seen visions once, and they turned out to be true... Jedi fighting Jedi, aided by Sith. The skirmish on Brendok had changed everything, not just how she saw Jedi. Whatever this hungering maw was in her mind's eye, both it and the girl were important.

Turning towards Kaila Ironshe nodded towards the Jedi " this one of yours?"

"I just asked the same-!" She recognized Spek Zhio approaching just as Laphisto force pushed the girl away without saying anything. Negotiations were over from that point forward, certainly between her and the draconic fellow. If there was one thing she hated it was people keeping secrets from her.

Damnit.

"Zhio!" She called out, climbing over the tower rubble.

"This isn't my doing! The Sith isn't with me either, I'm just want to know the girl is safe!"

She didn't know how the hell they'd found each other again or what he was doing out here, but at the very least she knew him better than she did anyone else here.

Seeing the girl get pulled onto a rooftop, Kaila leapt down into the street below to sprint across and begin leaping from ledge to ledge via the force, covering a surprising amount of ground with each bound. The others were in a better position to fight the Sith and she was done trying to trust gray jedi that she wasn't familiar with.

When she had ascended the rooftop, it was just in time to catch the tale end of the unidentified Jedi's loose explanation.

If you do not feel like coming with me, you can stay here, but I do not recommend it. As you can see, those after you are not exactly friendly."

"Not much of a choice," She would grunt, pulling herself over the edge and onto her feet.

Kaila knew this could easily result in an armed confrontation, especially knowing the Ashlanite Jedi she'd met on Brendok. Even so, her hands remained where they could be seen, weapons still tucked beneath her cloak where they had been since she arrived, each step slow and deliberate as she rounded the corner.

"Leave with unclear intentions, or stay here to die? let's think about this for a moment"

She didn't stop until both figures were in her sight, although she kept out of arm's reach from either of them.

"I just want the girl away from the slavers, I'll provide transport or credits if it means she's safe. So long as where she goes is her choice. That being said, She's... she's like me. I'm sure you can feel it, like we're not alone here? Like each of us are two souls in one body?"

She carefully removed a personal Medpac from her belt then, crouching slowly to set it on the floor between herself and the girl. It contained bacta patches, anti-septic pads, bone knitters and pain killers even.

"For your thumb," She would nod once to the girl before standing, taking a step back so to allow them to safely collect the kit.

"I know how this looks, especially with that maniac down there. I'm the only one who hasn't killed someone today, save perhaps my... acquaintance in the red coat... I also work with a Jedi Knight named Dreidi Xeraic, might even be a colleague of yours if you're from the big temple on Coruscant. I don't know about you, but unless you're hiding another soul somewhere then I think I'm the only one here qualified to help,"

"If you want me to," She turned to the girl for a moment

"I used to have trouble controlling that other half. Before that, I was a slave too. I know what it's like to have choices made for you, so I just want to be sure the girl knows her options first, yeah?"

"If you'll let me take the mask off, I'll allow you to search my feelings, prove that I'm not lying. Are we all on the same page here?"
She glanced between the two, unsure how all this would play out, and fully aware that she was taking a big risk by exposing herself like this. Perhaps it would go some ways to establishing trust if she hadn't burnt that bridge already.


Tella Voland Tamsin Graves Laphisto Spek Zhio Darth Nexion

 

[Tamsin Graves]

As she neared the woman she was being pulled towards paralyzed in her fear and having no control over her destination she felt a push on her back that came from Laphisto . She moved forward and landed on the roof and as soon as she was in control again, she found herself being grabbed by the woman and pulled off to the side out of sight of ground she had been on not that long ago.

"You are probably wondering what the hell is going on. The long and short of it is you are special and I will explain as we go, but we need to get out of here, now. Are you capable of running? There are things you can do to prevent this from happening again that I can teach you, but they cannot be learned quickly, so our only option is to commandeer a speeder and flee into the desert. From there, I can arrange a more permanent exit. If you do not feel like coming with me, you can stay here, but I do not recommend it. As you can see, those after you are not exactly friendly."

The woman started talking and fast, saying she was special, and they needed to get out of there. Still petrified in fear about just flying in the air moments ago and her eyes gaping wide open unblinking up at the blue eyed silver haired person before her Tella Voland . As Tella and Tamsin's eyes met, just around the iris of Tamsin's eyes a faint glowing orange ring could be noticed this close up. "I…." Before more words could be formed another voice broke though climbing up to the roof they were on.

"Leave with unclear intentions, or stay here to die? let's think about this for a moment"

Tamsin's head turned to see the woman in the helmet standing near them and approaching. The woman came within arm's length of them both and Tamsin's looked between them. What the hell was even going on here this Talla was talking about teaching and how she was special. Before Tamsin could get in a word about how damn crazy this was Kaila Irons claiming they were alike, and she just wanted to free her because of their twin souls. What even was a twin soul, this had to be some kind of frakked up dream or nightmare. That is what this was, this was just her sleeping fear of being sold in the morning creeping into her dreams with hopes of being free.

The helmeted woman then removed a medpac from her belt then set it on the ground between them. Tamsin looked at it for a second before crouching slightly to grab it her eyes bouncing between both women. Holding the medpac against her stomach with her right arm as she opened it with her left hand. She trembled as she did it and pulled out a bacta patch. Her thumb was throbbing and if wasn't for the fear-induced adrenaline rush she would be feeling it full. It still hurt like hell, and she winced as she put the bacta patch on her thumb.

"I used to have trouble controlling that other half. Before that, I was a slave too. I know what it's like to have choices made for you, so I just want to be sure the girl knows her options first, yeah?"

The woman in the helmet started talking to her again about control and the other half. About having had been a slave and not having a choice. Telling her she had options whatever that meant.

"If you'll let me take the mask off, I'll allow you to search my feelings, prove that I'm not lying. Are we all on the same page here?"

"Uh…..what the hell is going on?" She looked at them both as she asked the questions. "Am I dreaming this lunacy?" She spoke but her voice was trembling and breaking as she did, so it was low and soft. "Who are you guys? Do you have me confused with someone else? I'm just a slave girl named Tamsin, I have never been special in my life?" She had to wonder if this was the part of the dream where they revealed she was some princess that had been stolen away by her parents arch enemy when she was child and they had come to bring her home. Thinking this was a dream and completely ridiculous she just said. "Am I secretly a princess or something?"

 

[Spek Zhio]

"Awwww..." Spek made a dismissive motion with his hand and affectedly giggled. "Good sir? Me? Well, I'll have you know, flattery will only get you everywhere!" he said to the Sith.

Promptly, the man began conjuring the dead to rise again. And Zhio's smile waned. "Now, that just won't do," with the motive behind the other man's previous murderous actions revealed, the Zeltron felt slightly disappointed with himself. "Never assume, Spek. Never assume..." With a closed fist, he lightly tapped the side of his head twice and stuck out his tongue.

The smuggler heard the word 'credits', and his attention was immediately drawn to the man-drake behind him. Glancing over his right shoulder, he ignored the walking dead and laughed. "Jedi, me? No, no no... It's just that... whenever someone tries to use others as their puppets, it rubs me the wrong way!"

With a quick-draw of his Mercury-Class energy pistol and without looking at his targets, Zhio shot a barrage of energy pulses. Ten, to be precise. Each one, aimed at the center of the forehead of each of the Sith zombies. Dead aiming was a trivial matter, when you had the Force to resort to. Furthermore, despite those not being point-blank shots, the armor-piercing pulses were still quite effective on unprotected dead flesh, at a distance of less than twenty meters. With the massive trauma to their skulls, being more than enough to destroy them, the moving corpses feel to ground for a second time that afternoon. In less time that it took for the Sith to raise them.

"I'd rather be rubbed the right way!" he winked at soldier-boy. Seemingly uninterested with what he just did, he went on, as he twirled the pistol around his trigger finger before holstering it again. "The name's Spek, by the way. Spek Zhio, with a 'zh', like in pleasure or composure."

Pleasantly amused, as Kaila began to give some sort of explanation regarding her circumstance, Spek simply waved at her, "And fancy seeing you here, Kaila with a 'kay'!" Why she felt the need to explain herself to him, however, baffled Zhio. Greater than the mysteries of the Force, the Jedi or the Sith, were those concerning the ways of women. Still, allegiances were being clearly drawn. The Sith necromancer and the Jedi with a vanishing trick, were fighting over the poor girl. These other two, Kaila and dragon-man, were fighting for her freedom. For her right to choose.

Spek Zhio knew just where and with whom he stood.

"Mountain-man... dragon... dude in the green armor - sorry, I didn't quite get your name - I'm not going to tell you what to do, but feel free to assist in rescuing the girl." Spek turned to face the necromancer. "I got this one!"

Battle meditation kicking in, the Zeltron cracked his neck twice, first to the right, then to the left. "That's what rubber necking gets you..." Anyone on his side, that joined the fight would get a boost in morale, while the opposite would be true of his opponents, provided they were affected by the Force technique. The drawback, was that in regards to everything that was and would be taking place outside of the scope of battle, Zhio would probably be oblivious to.

"Now that that's out of the way, where were we," he said, returning his attention to the male Sith. "Oh, right! Yeah, sorry to burst your bubble there, buddy! Unlike flattery, cheap parlor tricks won't get you anywhere with me.

"While I do appreciate your politeness - and I really do..." Force telekinesis opened his utility belt pouch and gently placed both lightsabers onto his hands. It had been some time, and he would have felt embarrassed for his over-excitement, if not for his state of trance and complete focus. The hilt with the crossguard rested on his right hand. The curved one, was held in a Shien reverse grip, on his left.

"...I'm afraid you'll have to go through me, to get to them." His tone was different. No longer jovial but not vicious either. Rather, it was frigid, as the air around him was becoming.

The man assumed a neutral stance of the Makashi form, not intent in giving the game away.

---

Darth Nexion Laphisto

 

[Tella Voland]

Tella was not as trusting as Kaila was, positioning herself between the girl and the Sith, holding on to a reserve of Force power ready to be unleashed the moment the woman tried anything aggressive. She, her mother, and her people knew Sith. No matter how disarming they might appear, they always had some kind of ulterior motive. Always. It did not help that the woman was delaying their escape to have a supposed heart to heart while another Sith was preparing to turn the area right next door into a literal war zone, they needed to -go- and then maybe they could have an extended chat.

Tella offered an exasperated sigh and addressed Tamsin, looking more than a little bit on edge as she did so.

"We really need to go, now, this whole area is going to go to hell in a few moments. Not a princess that I know of, you're Force Sensitive, and fairly strong at that. You ever see the holovids or hear the stories about the Jedi and the Sith? That could be you one day, if you survive. If."

Tella glanced down past Kaila at the street as loud blaster fire from one of the combatants could be heard, watching as a half-score of zombies dropped dead due to Force-aided aiming in a matter of moments. She quickly turned and spoke to Tamsin.

"You hear that? That is just the beginning. I can explain further and will if we get a move on, but the longer we stay here, the higher the chances of you getting hurt."

She glanced hard at Kaila, blue eyes cold and wary as she did so.

"Surely you would not mind that, given what is about to occur, if your intentions are good as you claim?"


Darth Nexion Laphisto Kaila Irons Spek Zhio Tamsin Graves

 

[Kaila Irons]

It was heartbreaking even if understandable to hear the girl so dismayed and confused, and Kaila knew that being swarmed by all these force sensitives circling like vultures would do nothing to help. It was perhaps a blessing in disguise then that the others were battling it out below while they were alone here on the rooftop.

That being said, She did not trust the Jedi, not after Brendok.

Her attempted diplomacy was more so for the girl's sake than her own. A genuine reason to keep the peace, yes, but behind that visor she was more alert than she seemed.

She allowed the Jedi to address the girl first, having already said her piece.

You hear that? That is just the beginning. I can explain further and will if we get a move on, but the longer we stay here, the higher the chances of you getting hurt."
"Surely you would not mind that, given what is about to occur, if your intentions are good as you claim?"

Kaila would tilt her head, leaving the mask on for now as they made no mention of her offer.

"Good for her, certainly"

She then peeked around the Jedi, addressing the girl

"Do you want to be a princess? There is a lot you could become, you just need the right teacher. You might be scared right now, but only because no one has shown you what you're truly capable of"

There was a certain hint of smugness in her voice before she turned back to the Jedi.

"Let me tag along for now, we'll explain to her together. She is free to make her own choices right? I say let it be an informed decision. Everything after that is in her hands. If she chooses you? I will leave in peace. She chooses me? I have resources, she'll be safe. She chooses neither? She'll still still be safe from her assailants by then and we can focus on throwing the others off her trail, like that Sith down there"

"Deal?"

In she didn't care what the robed figure would answer. The freedom to choose for oneself was irrevocable, and she would act according to the girl's choice with or without the Jedi's cooperation.


Tamsin Graves Tella Voland Spek Zhio Laphisto Darth Nexion

 

[Darth Nexion]

Nexion's eyes showed boredom as he looked on at the man, clearly not thinking he'd be difficult to manage. He raised his arm once more and the corpses rose up again.

"Right, one blast to the head and the corpses go down. Not that easy I'm afraid. But, since you insist, I'll be glad to deal with you myself."

Nexion gestured to the corpses to go and cause chaos. All he needed them to do was kill the others in the area. Even if they couldn't they'd provide a good distraction so he can reach his goal.

He removed his cloak, revealing his armour underneath. It would protect against blasters and blunt force, and was light and breathable to not hinder his combat ability. He then secured his second blade to his belt. With the blade in his left hand, he activated it, it's crimson glow illuminating his face.

He assumed the stance for Form VI and stared down his opponent.

"It may actually be fun to play with you for a while."

__________________________

Laphisto
Tella Voland
Kaila Irons
Spek Zhio
Tamsin Graves

 

[Tella Voland]

As the Sith continued to pontificate and try to make herself look better than Tella by taking all the time in the world to shill herself as a teacher to the girl when there was a literal battle going on, some of the Force zombies, obeying their master's command and being drawn to the three Force Sensitives on top to the building began to climb up the structure. Three of them suddenly crawled over the side of sandstone building, moaning and howling, their eyes filled with a ghastly green-fire. They seemed to focus on fear, so they stared directly at Tamsin.

"Great job, Sith, I told you we needed to go and we could explain things later! Now look what you have done!" Tella replied acidly, adjusting her stance as she did so. Raising both her hands up, she concentrated, using Force Whirlwind to suddenly spin the three zombies in the air. Then, drawing upon some of the gas that had been leaking earlier, she surrounded them with it, and then lit a small spark using pyrokinesis. The result was that the three zombies howled as they were engulfed by a miniature and precise firestorm as they burned to ash, the only solution because if she had simply pushed them out of the way, they would have gotten back up and come for them. Tella was careful to limit it away from the Sith and Tamsin, achievable only because she had such a mastery of both Alter and Telekinesis. Still, the effort caused her to sweat a little, even for a Consular that was a fair bit of exertion at her level.

"I would not trust her, but I would take her deal for now if it gets her to stop talking for a moment and do something useful. Like I have been saying, we need to go and things can be explained on the way! " Tella urged, as the sound of more zombies could be heard in the area. Hopefully the girl would choose to trust the person who had been correct so far, over someone who preferred to try to make herself look better when chaos was bearing down on them.

Laphisto Tamsin Graves Spek Zhio Kaila Irons Darth Nexion

 

[Tamsin Graves]

The silver haired woman stepped between her and the helmeted woman. It wasn't hard to tell there was a bit a of tension between the two women even in Tamsin's fear induced state. She still had very little idea what the hell was going on as the silver haired woman spoke up again.

"We really need to go, now, this whole area is going to go to hell in a few moments. Not a princess that I know of, you're Force Sensitive, and fairly strong at that. You ever see the holovids or hear the stories about the Jedi and the Sith? That could be you one day, if you survive. If."

"Do you want to be a princess? There is a lot you could become, you just need the right teacher. You might be scared right now, but only because no one has shown you what you're truly capable of"

The silver haired one was really pushing to go and for Tamsin to go with her. The other trying to act like a friend with offers of being a princess. As they both claimed she was something special or had something great about her. She knew deep down she wasn't anything, not a princess nor something special or powerful. If she had been, people would have come for her long before this. She was a nobody in a sea of stars filled with people, practically born into slavery like billions of others.

Special was something reserved for those who would be great and change the galaxy forever whether it was for good or evil. As they talked of Jedi and Sith, it wasn't as if she hadn't heard those terms before but to most of the common people of the galaxy they were near mythical beings. Spoke in legends and great war tales it was hard to tell if they were myth or legend to most people. Weather one side was Good or Evil wasn't as black and white as one thought it would be. Sure, Jedi were often marked as great hero's of myth but even in her short life thus far she had heard of supposed jedi causing horrible acts just as much. Jedi might have meant hero once but not so much anymore.

She had heard less about Sith but just like the Jedi it was mixed bag heroic Sith but also cruel and vile ones. Tamsin didn't really know what to think about that whole storm of information she didn't know enough outside of myths about either group. She didn't like the majority of the population even know what force sensitive meant. Just like the common folk it was space magick to her told of in stories and legends.

"What's a Force sensitive?" ….Before there was even an answer the silver haired woman yelled at the helmeted woman.

"Great job, Sith, I told you we needed to go and we could explain things later! Now look what you have done!"

Tamsin tried to look over the much taller silver haired woman's shoulder only to find herself block by the helmet of the other woman who was looking at her. All she caught through the open spots was the sound of something igniting and small plumes of fire and smoke. Not sure exactly what was going on but what was knew, this was the most surreal thing she had ever experienced.

Then the smell hit her nostrils as the zombies burned away the smell of burnt flesh and that was a smell Tamsin knew. She almost gagged but caught herself before hurling. She needed to go that she did know everything in her was telling her to run but she also knew she wasn't going to get away from these two not in her current state.

"let's…go." She said very quietly and hesitantly. Since she knew she wasn't going to lose them but had to get out of here she would trust them both for the moment. Though she really wasn't sure of either of them. "I don't think, I am who you think I am though. I also have no idea who either of you are?"

---

Kaila Irons | Tella Voland | Darth Nexion | Laphisto | Spek Zhio