Noticeably Absent [Sky]

[Sarge Potteiger]

@[member="Sky Kerberos"]

Sarge didn't have reason, too often, to visit a Jedi Temple. He rather avoided them typically, as his presence around Force users often made them feel a bit ornery for one reason or another. Stepping into the atrium of the temple, massive marble pillars flanking either side, he sighs and tugs his hood down just a hair lower across his face.

Satisfied that the upper half of him is obscured in shadow, he takes deliberate steps to cross the massive room and get to the wide, double-door exit at the other end. The Jedi around him went about their days as they typically did, giving him a fairly wide berth.

Voids in the Force didn't engender much good feeling, and most weren't too curious to get to know him for one reason or another. That was quite fine by him.

Eyes scanning back and forth, he sighs a bit. The figure he cut crossing the room made him stand out just as much the absence he was within the living galactic energy known as the Force.

Sarge, like most soldiers, was a broad shouldered man with a sure stride and a hint of a swagger to his walk. Despite standing up straight, his shoulders carried with them the hunch of a man expecting a fight; he wasn't so much walking as he was stalking.

Wrapped around his neck to form a makeshift hood was a cloak made of photoreactive fibers, which took on the appearance of their surroundings, obscuring him from view in a manner akin to active camouflage. He was, at times, literally not able to be seen.

But under that was the matte black plasteel plates of a soldier of OmegaPyre.

Certainly not the kind of man you'd ever expect to find in a Temple. Then again, the Jedi as part of the Republic frequently dealt with the mercenary organization turned government.

He wasn't even halfway across the room before someone bumped into him, not realizing he was there. Sighing and giving a murmured apology, he pauses to make sure he hadn't been pickpocketed before continuing onward.

Yes, he thought he may be pickpocketed in a Jedi Temple.

 

[Sky Kerberos]

What was her life like in the Jedi Temple? Well, first and foremost it was being avoided. Either by the younger Jedi who instinctually feel the darkness that tainted her soul...though what was worst was when she received looks and a wide berth from the older Jedi. The Jedi who were in their seventies never came near her. Never.

Sky couldn't figure it out. It seemed in some of them a flicker of recognition was present in their eyes as they rushed past her, never wanting to say a word to the newly cloned Jedi Master. She had thought she was alone in this endeavor, that their 'stay away' game was limited to herself, that was until she saw a tall military type man facing the same predicament. Though she knew why they played that game with him, she felt--or rather it was the complete opposite of felt--a void within him.

Not only were the Jedi avoiding him though, she also saw the mistrust he had toward them. The way that accident prone youngling bumped into him, and he suspiciously checked his belongings in the aftermath of the collusion--come on. Who else would believe there were petty thieves in the Jedi Temple, except those with a serious mistrust of the Order.

He was a curious figure, and one whose mistrust and avoidance was so akin to her own, that she decided to see more. See where he was going, what issues he had during his visit. Of course, with his complete and peculiar lack of the Force around him, she could not trail him as easily as another. Rather than the sense that every Force-user relies on, she had to use the visual and stay near him in order to track him. Judging by his posture, he was military, making this all the more difficult to do.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Sarge stepped into daylight, his cloak taking a second or two to adjust to the daylight before correcting itself and once more making him a half-glimpsed ghost; other than the combat boots visible just below the hem of the cape, that is.

He briefly felt someone was watching him, but that wasn't anything unusual, and so he ignored the nagging feeling for the moment. Sky would find out soon enough, however, that he simply didn't much trust anyone.

As he passed out of the Temple and into the crowds, he immediately began to skirt groups of people, avoiding eye contact with anyone and everyone and generally doing his best to keep to himself even when people attempted to converse with him.

That didn't stop him however from pausing at a street fruit vendor. Seemed he had a bit of hunger gnawing at him.

 

[Sky Kerberos]

Now to the streets, at least she could blend in better while tracking him. And his avoidance and mistrust continued out within the general public...except in one very important matter.

A gungan, who she had heard tales about, was serving his well known fruit speciality--and that was not a good thing. Some Jedi she overheard were speaking of how he was planted there from the Sith, trying to incapacitate the Jedi one by one with his unwashed, rancid fruits. Of course, she did not test their theory herself--nor was about to. And seeing this male whom she already felt kindred to due to his avoidance tendencies, about to buy a week of pain...she could not stand to let him without fair warning.

"I wouldn't," she said, walking pass him as if she were not following him all this time. "If you're hungry I suggest the cantina two blocks down. The food there does not leave such an affect effect as this fruit does."

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Sarge smiled, winked at the Gungan who seemed more than a little upset he'd been ratted out, and turned to follow after the woman who'd given him the tip. It had been an unnecessary one; the fruit smelled funny, so he'd not planned on buying any.

The important was it had exposed a tail. He'd not been sure he'd been being followed or not, but he bet the reason he'd felt watched was whoever this woman was.

"Thank you, miss.", he says as short but fast strides of his legs brought him alongside her. "Glad someone around here thought to think of my safety."

As he said that, a child bumped into him, but before the kid could move around he'd been grabbed by the collar. Sarge held out a hand. Sighing, the kid handed back over the credits he'd pilfered. Letting the child go, he shook his head.

Under the hood, the mans face briefly came into view. The off-white caps of his teeth showed between a bush of a beard, and his right cheek was marred by heavy shrapnel scarring. It was hard to get anything of the upper half of his face, as it was cloaked in shadow, but two warm brown eyes that danced with amusement regarded her momentarily.

"Kids." He says, not sounding much older than his own early twenties now that she was closer.

 

[Sky Kerberos]

"You would expect it to be opposite," she said. "In the city of the Jedi, the Temple holding all under it's shadow...shouldn't someone helping you be a given?"

As it should be a given that children would not have to steal. The Jedi were charged with saving all the galaxy, but yet they could not even clean up their own backyard or put the prejudices behind them to see people for who they really were. If all were perfect, the child would not have to steal. And if all were right, the Jedi would have welcomed this anomalous male with open arms and her own aberrations without the need to change them.

But that was a fool's wish.

She quickly reached through the Force, feeling the child's story. It was an expected tale, one of harsh realities, and one which made her reach into her pocket and give the kid a few credits. Etching the child's signature within her mind, she would check them out and make sure all was well later. She would also deal with the kingpin of this pickpocket scheme, for she felt the child had not acted on their own choosing.

She walked with the male to show him the cantina, feeling out of place in his stride. But she did not abhor the unusual feeling, instead she found a type of solace in it. Not to feel another, not to know their emotions and intentions from the start. Not to know who someone was immediately, but to actually take the time to get to understand them. He was a mystery to her, neither light nor dark. He simply was.

"I'm Sky by the way. I am a Jedi here," she said, though tentatively. The words were still strange on her tongue, a Jedi. But it was who the one she had been cloned from was, or so she was told and what her memories said. But still it felt like a lie, even though she knew she told him the truth.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"I find the Jedi tend to spend more time taking care of their own business; typically preparing for the Sith." There was a fair bit of amusement to that too, as though anything and everything was capable of being spun into a joke of some sort.

Again, a genial smile appeared under that hood, and he extended a calloused hand with long, slender fingers towards her to shake. A standard greeting, as she'd know. "Everyone calls me Sarge." Not his real name, most likely, but it would do.

It may as well have been his real name.

"I work for OmegaPyre." She was a paragon of justice (supposedly), and he was a gun for hire (most certainly). An odd pairing. Soon enough though, they were nearing where she said the cantina would be.

"I'm not actually hungry, you know." Again, the humored tone. "Just wanted to see if anyone decided to take an interest in me. Seems you did, Sky." The way he said her name was... curious. It was almost like he was testing it. Tasting it.

"A nice name." The smile once more. "You seem to not quite believe you're a Jedi." It was true, she seemed a bit hesitant about it in a way that implied a number of things, foremost of which was that she was new to the Order and perhaps feeling out of place.

Standard fare for any organization someone joined, really, and that was likely why he was able to place it. That or he was exceptionally good at getting a read on people.

 

[Sky Kerberos]

Taking his hand in hers, she shook. "Maybe you wished to see if someone was following you as well?"

It was obvious he was trained in combat, and would know of when someone stalked him. When he stated he had not been hungry after all, she knew it was all a ploy. But it had worked, Sarge had gotten her to reveal herself, and now had her for the afternoon to himself. She certainly was not leaving him now, for he was too much of a mystery to her. She needed to know how he had no Force signature whatsoever, for she had never encountered anything like him.

Not only was he good at ending a stalk, he also summed her up from the start. Was she that obvious?

"Perhaps you are right. But I try to be. A Jedi Master should do more than try though, shouldn't they? They should be a Jedi, without question nor hestiation." Of course she looked young for a master, being 22. But her clone body was even younger, only a few months old. The memories, though with many holes, were of years upon years.

"So I guess you figured me out. Are you going to turn me in for them to kick me out?" She joked, but yet knew it was a serious question. Technically he could report her, but she could care less right now.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

The man stopped in his tracks, giving her a slow once over. Or at least, that's what he appeared to do given the faint movements of his head. He chuckles though, a hearty chuckle, the kind that resonated from deep within someone's chest.

"Why would I turn you in... hrm?"

He took a moment to appreciate her face, which he was just now noticing. No lecherous thoughts came to mind, nothing obscene; it was more a moment of reflection when he one realized they were staring square at a work of art, and their eyes finally registered what it was they were seeing.

He'd seen many an attractive Jedi; or rather, attractive Force User, but never one so... sure about being unsure. Most were overconfident or disastrously self conscious and in need of a man to affirm that they were, in fact, pretty. But for Sky, everything was a question, like the world around her was an utter mystery.

Perhaps it was.

Or maybe she was a lawyer.

He hated lawyers.

"Do you... want them to kick you out?" Again, the smile, the teeth showing through. "Or would you rather just follow me and ask questions?"

 

[Sky Kerberos]

It was her quirk, asking too many questions. She had hoped no one had noticed it, but should have expected nothing to get past Sarge. With him, not only did she feel stripped of the Force, but stripped of all barriers. He was able to see past her, and call her out on her oddities. Asking questions. Not being a very good Jedi. Even her subconscious desire of wanting to be kicked out of the order. Where had all the defenses she had worked up gone too?

Of course, she realized that his three questions back towards her were a bit of a jab. But it did not offend her, for he was right.

"Let's follow each other, I ask questions and you answer them with more questions," she said, a smile escaping her lips. She answered his latter question, for the former one was too difficult to respond to without telling him everything about herself. And he was still but a stranger to her.

"Tell me about yourself, Sarge, besides your work and your name. Who are you?" she said, almost teasingly so, for she knew she had to end on a question in order to fulfill his view of her.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

With a seriousness that brokered no further inquiries, he responded with "Im nobody." He began to walk towards the outskirts of towns, towards the forests and streams that formed zig zags across the lush landscape.

Although she didn't know it, half of what he was asking was guesswork. He'd been teasing about her wanting to be kicked out; but if you seemed to know what you were talking about, people couldn't tell the difference.

He'd learned that quite early.

"But, if you must know, I'm a roughly 23 year old male, maybe 22 depending on adjustments. I'm one point eight five meters tall and just a hair over a hundred kilograms. I like high explosives, good whiskey, and prefer to be alone."

Despite answering her question, he wasn't answering the question.

"I've brown hair and eyes, like to joke, and enjoy a nice summer day so I can look at the sky and appreciate its beauty. Yes, I'm aware of how that sounds."

His smile fades, mouth setting into a thin line. "To truly answer your question, though? That I cannot do. I guard my personal information jealously."

"And what of you, Sky...?"

 

[Sky Kerberos]

He sounded like a personal ad.

"22 years old. Female. Likes asking questions apparently," she said, completely noticing that he had taken a jab at her with all of his own questions. "Blue eyes, brown hair. I like Pina Colada's, getting caught in the rain, the feel of the ocean and the taste of champagne."

"Seriously though, if you cannot give anything to me, then we are at a stand still." They were strangers to each other, and perhaps he could see the benefit of that. Strangers means you can say anything, and not have the weight of the problems resurfacing. Not have the weight of what people will say, or the judgement of your peers.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Sarge wagged a finger, mouth open ever so slightly as though he wasn't quite certain he'd heard what his ears were processing. "I like you..." There was a slow nod for a moment or two before he laughed, then laughed a little more.

It was a far less restrained laugh than was probably necessary, but he was absolutely amused. A Jedi Master calling him on his shit. Who'd have thunk.

"Alright, alright. You win, you win. I'm from a planet called Terra somewhere out in the Unknown Regions and I woke up with no memory on Mon Calamari when I was... 19. Good enough for you? Cause that's about all I got."

 

[Sky Kerberos]

"Good enough," she said sweetly, as if she had not had to pry it out of him to begin with. Though he was extremely likable in his tone and manner, she could not help but think all of those people who avoided him had missed out on a truly interesting male. At least she had him to herself this day, and together they could create a tide of avoidance.

"And I'm a clone. So only several months old, though physically 22, and memory-wise a lot older. Perhaps all three ages wrapped into one." She never really thought of it like that, though it was the truest statement she had made.

"I am from Kamino. But the one who I was cloned from is from a place which I cannot remember. They did not do the best job in transferring the memories of the elder Sky to me." She doubted that it was an error in the technicians though. The Kaminoans never would make such a mistake...though she could not guess at what those memories she had lost were or why they had been erased.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"Not a ton of memory? We've got something in common then." He paused as they neared a creek, which babbled gently as it wove through the sparse forest he'd walked them into. "I love creeks." Although he pronounced it 'crick'.

He pauses, gaze barely visible beneath his hood before he crouches and sticks a hand down and into the water. A smile formed as the cool liquid sluiced through his fingers and around his hand.

Sighing happily, he looks back up to her. "If you've got no real memory, or rather sparse memories... make new ones. You're you. Not whoever the old Sky was. Be wary of your past though; especially people who claim to be a part of it."

Smiling fading, he fixed her with a hard gaze. "You can never be sure who your friends are."

 

[Sky Kerberos]

He was a warrior, the scars of his face spoke that in volumes. But yet his actions were so gentle, his words so wise. It was as if a monk hid deep behind the mask, one of belonging and yet the exact opposite. The water being of the world around him, passing his fingers as if an impenetrable force. As was he. Outside within this life, and yet the Force was the water, rushing around him yet unable to breach him.

"The one who freed me from the cloning chamber, he is one of my past. But despite his words of who I was, I cannot help but feel the gaps of my memories fill in a very different story."

She could handle Darron though, but what she was more nervous about was who she has yet to meet. Luckily, it had just been Darron who claims he knew her. Who else would she come across, who else would try to manipulate her for their own needs?

"How about the memories that you make to replace your barren past? Does it work, does it fill the emptiness of not knowing?"

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"That's where we run into a problem. I remember my life. I don't remember how I got all the way to Mon Calamari. I don't remember learning to read and write Basic." He sighs again, other hand dipping into the water to cup it and bring it to his mouth so he could drink.

It was potable, refreshing. The smile returned for a heartbeat.

"I don't remember where I learned to understand and speak just about any and every language." As if to prove his point, he paused and gave several guttural barks and rumbles that were quite identifiable Shyriiwook; the wookiee language.

Standing and turning towards her, he shakes his head. "Never allow someone to tell you who you are. They're always wrong, even if they sound right."

 

[Sky Kerberos]

Any and every language...

She could not be sure if the tattoo on her back represented a symbol, a word, or simply a design. But perhaps he could help her.

"When I was cloned, I awoke with a tattoo along the back of my neck and spine. It cannot be a normal tattoo, for obviously designs that people paint themselves do not transfer in the cloning process, so it must be apart of my blood." She felt it too, the sensation as if it lived within her. The heat it generated, the nightmares it brought. "Will you look at it, tell me if it is in any language that you know of?"

The creek harmonized gently with both of their words, as if an audience to the duo. It spoke of the time of nature, having witnessed so much but in such a narrow space. If only it held secrets of the past--of why Sarge had this knowledge of the languages, and why she was haunted so. But more so...it held another offering. It offered a time in the present, one where the both of them could make new memories. If he would look at her tattoo, tell her the meaning, she swore to herself to forgo any implications...and simply live for today. Perhaps go swimming in the waters, though she wondered if she could get Sarge to do the same.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

"I can do that. And if I cannot tell you what is was... I'll do my best to find out." He sounded supremely confident that no matter what, he'd have an answer for her. That meant whatever information networks he was connected to we're quite good at what they did.

His hand lifted slightly and his index finger swirled a lazy circle in the air. Digging into his webbing, he pulls out a datapad and readies it to search for images.

What Sky wasn't aware of was that before going legitimate with his boss, Ayden Cater, Sarge had been apart of something known as the Syndicate. He'd been with it since its founding, and throughout the Gulag Plague it had survived, and even thrived, off the information trade.

Little was beyond the scope of the Syndicate, and Sarge was the personal assassin to its founder. Or rather, had been before merging with OmegaPyre.

"Let's illuminate the shadows, shall we?"

 

[Sky Kerberos]

Blush slightly came over her cheeks, for she knew in order to translate it he would have to see it in it's entirety. Turning around, she pulled her shirt off, though held it over her front in modesty, and pulled her hair over her shoulders. From the back of her neck, downward to the curve of her spine, was the dark tattoo. Black, yet in it's intensity left a slight red hue.

What likelihood had he in translating it? And if he could...how would that effect her from this moment on?

She bit her lip in anticipation for what he could tell her and how it would change her.