Public Neath dark shrouds

[Arthion Aesatra]

It was… somewhat odd.

Whilst technically a Knight, and granted full authority to conduct missions on her own or even accompanied by a Padawan, it was not so long ago that Arthion was a Padawan herself. In many ways, she still felt like one. Despite the confidence and poise with which she carried herself, she was young, and not the most experienced.

Nonetheless, it was deemed that she had the wherewithal to do exactly that, with one Aris Noble in tow. Perhaps it was the nature of the mission, tracking down an artefact in an unknown world at the edge of Alliance space, that made it so they were allowed to do this. The experience would certainly be valuable. Despite this… there were many ways such an assignment could go wrong.

But perhaps it was best not to stress about it.

Arthion’s eyes flitted towards Aris as they hurtled through hyperspace aboard the transport they were boarded on, regarding the boy with her sharp eyes. He was similar to herself in many respects: an introverted and private individual, focused on his goals and caring a great deal about those close to him. That said… those were where the similarities ended. Where she was diplomatic, he was blunt. While she cared a great deal about her appearance, he appeared to pay no mind to such matters. It admittedly created a smidge of disconnect, but it was nothing insurmountable.

As for Arthion herself… well, she looked far more like a highborn aristocrat than a Jedi. Her outfit was designed with aesthetics as a priority, and the elegant poise with which she carried herself brought to mind nobility, not at all helped by the fact that she had something of a resting bitchface. However, she was nothing but polite when they did converse… but ultimately, she could hardly control his impression of her, could she?

Eyes focusing back to reality, Arthion spoke up, her voice equal parts soft and firm. “The artefact we seek is said to be hidden away in ruins of an ancient order of Force wielders. Research suggests little in the way of traps or similar dangers. That said… we know very little about the artefact itself. I doubt the Council would send us if it were truly dangerous, but it’s still best to be on guard.” She advised. If there was anything her time as a Sentinel taught her, it was that caution was always the way until information was made clear.

---

Aris Noble

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris was reading, more often than not. Nose down in a datapad, eyes far too quickly scanning over the pages. Though, he wasn't reading up on the mission. No, he was nose deep in more study about the Lovalla, about Force Bonds. Artifacts. At least that last one was somewhat on topic for what he should be, but the reasoning behind it all was eating all of his attention.

Zaiya Ceti .

He let out a sigh as he lowered the datapad finally, just before he heard the voice he'd been hearing since the trip started. His gaze shifted to the not that much shorter than him Jedi Knight. It was pretty rare in the Order for Jedi to push his height, but at least he didn't have to look so far down to talk to her. She reminded him of him, when he first woke up anyway.

"If they had enemies, there'll be traps. And given the nature of this galaxy, they had enemies."

He stood up, fixing his robe. While not excessive with design, he did care about his look. He was a prince, after all, even if he'd never admit it.

"How much longer till we land?"

Arthion Aesatra

 

[Arthion Aesatra]

Arthion hadn’t needed the Force to tell her that Aris was distracted with something. More often than not, she would see him quickly scanning through a datapad in a manner far too focused and frequent for it to be part of the mission. His thoughts and emotions were elsewhere, focused on another.

She didn’t cast judgement or make comment. His reasons were his own, after all. She only hoped it wouldn’t distract him from the mission.

Arthion looked up at the taller man as he stood up, not quite used to having to crane her neck upwards to speak with people. Slowly standing up herself, Arthion would reply.

“Perhaps you’re right.” She admitted. Research was one thing, but reality easily proved to be different time and time again.

Her eyes flitted towards him as she spoke again. “Estimated time of arrival is ten minutes. Not much longer now.”

And after a short wait, the planet would come into sight. It was mostly covered in green, by and large untouched by civilization save for small towns and outposts. Certainly the definition of a backwater.

“This is Vahpu.” Arthion spoke up as their transport made its gradual descent into the planet’s atmosphere, “A settling effort began a handful of months ago, but the discovery of the ruins has attracted a handful of interested parties, not all of whom have the best interests of the Alliance and its people at heart. We should take care of who we let information slip to.”

A few more minutes, and the transport arrived at the hangar of the largest settlement on the planet… which was still rather modest in size. As it did, however, Arthion narrowed her eyes for a moment—almost imperceptibly so.

“Hmm.” She mused, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. If Aris were particularly adept with his ability to sense the Force, he might feel what she was feeling: a lingering darkness, almost like a footprint in the Force, too muddled to properly make out. Perhaps it was the product of these ruins, or perhaps…

---

Aris Noble

 

[Aris Noble]

Ten minutes.

He could've done more research then. Aris frowned at the thought before he pushed them back. He was distracted, really distracted. With the danger they were likely going to find? He needed to not be. He reached up to idly tap his cheeks. Focus. Focus. Stop thinking about Zaiya Ceti . He cleared his throat. For now, yes. Stop thinking about her.

The landing wasn't too long, thankfully. He took a deep breath of the planet's air, smiling faintly. This he could focus on. He glanced to Arthion, brow raised as she seemed to be the distracted one this time. On what, he wasn't sure. He couldn't feel the Force. Whatever Darkness was around them, he'd never realize it was there. "You ready? We should get there soon as we can."

Arthion Aesatra

 

[Arthion Aesatra]

Arthion could feel it tugging at his mind, a pull that he had to make a concerted effort to push aside. Whoever this person was, he certainly cared about her a great deal. Fortunately, he seemed to understand that the mission couldn’t broach any distraction.

But Arthion herself was also distracted. The darkness was subtle, yet cloying, and something she couldn’t quite bring herself to ignore. It took Aris’ prompting to bring her back to reality, just as the doors to the transport opened, leaving them free to go down to the landing area.

“Yes, of course. Follow me.” Arthion said with a nod, walking down the ramp and into the landing area proper.

The settlement was modest, yet modern. Rust, dirt, and other such pains hadn’t yet set into the structures. People ambled about to and fro, by and large labourers, yet other people such as researchers, businessmen, and guards supplemented the landscape.

The people there stared, trying and failing to be subtle as they passed by. Neither Aris nor Arthion were particularly inconspicuous, and that in combination with the fact that they wore lightsabers was cause for a fair degree of attention.

As they walked, Arthion spoke up. “Our contact will be at a cantina, a researcher by the name of Korbham Brocle. He will relay to us details and provide us with transport to the outpost nearest to the ruins.”

---

Aris Noble

 

[Aris Noble]

Aris gave a nod as he started to follow alongside her, but gave a pause as he glanced back to the ship. A chuckle followed as a almost literal ball of flame came rocketing out. It just about tackled him, not that he seemed to even react to it more than reaching up to pat the head of the bird that was now with him. "Not so asleep as to miss an adventure, huh, Cinder?"

He smiled bright before helping the flaming bird to his shoulder, it's feathery flames flickering all the while. "Adventure, adventure!"

Which only made the already super tall Jedi Padawan stand out that much more. And yet, for Aris, this was normal. He gave little waves to the people who seemed to be whispering about them. He could hear them, all of them, after all. "Sounds solid. He trustworthy at least?"

Arthion Aesatra

 

[Arthion Aesatra]

Arthion sensed it before she saw it, pausing to turn around just in time to see the streaking ball of flame all but tackle into Aris! She blinked for a moment, wondering what all that was about, until she realised that it was Aris’ bird. Arthion regarded the bird curiously, having never seen or heard of its like. It must have been quite a rare creature, which only made her wonder how Aris came across it.

But she could ask later. With them back on the move, Arthion would guide the two towards the cantina in question, the crowd subtly parting and giving the two space. Where Aris stood out by virtue of his impressive stature and unique companion, Arthion stood out with her aristocratic bearing and extravagant outfit. She held an elegant poise as she glided through the crowds, though unlike Aris, she ignored the people she passed by… Mostly due to shyness rather than contempt, much as she would deny this.

“‘Trustworthy’ is rather a strong term, but he is as good as I could find on short notice.” Arthion explained to Aris as they moved. “He is an independent researcher, with not that much renown or weight to his name. Even if he turns out to be adversarial to our goals, he won’t have the backing of a large entity or noteworthy allies, so it shan’t be too difficult to deal with.”

It wouldn’t take long for them to reach the cantina, and similar to the settlement itself, it was modern but sterile. Arthion would only need to scan the cantina for a few moments to find their man, making her way over and sitting opposite to him, who was startled out of his research notes at the approach. He was rather scrawny-looking, with thick glasses, black hair, and pale skin.

“Korgham Brocle?” Arthion inquired.

The man cleared his throat, composing himself with a hasty nod. “Yes, yes, I am. You two are the Jedi, I take it?” His speech was equally hasty, betraying nervousness.

Arthion didn’t immediately respond, her eyes imperceptibly narrowing as she regarded the researcher. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but…

“Yes. I am Arthion Aesatra, this is Aris Noble.” She introduced the both of them, opting not to voice her suspicions for the moment.

---

Aris Noble

 

[Aris Noble]

Easy to deal with low rank adventurer? Aris hummed at the thought, again reaching up to scratch under Cinder's chin. That wasn't the only thing he was thinking on, though. Was she just like he'd been when he was younger? Distant because she didn't really understand how to interact with others? Or was it something else? Hard to tell from just watching, but he could see she wasn't too keen on interacting with those staring at them.

And then there was the researcher. Aris watched the man calmly, but his eyes could see everything. The subtle tensing of the man's jaw, the shiftiness of his eyes. He could even hear the heart beat racing louder. He took a seat beside Arthion, and smiled. They were quite the intimidating pair. "It's good to meet you, Korgham. Shall we be off?"

Arthion Aesatra