Private Pick Six

[Zoar]

They moved together in perfect unison.

It was like nothing Zoar had ever experienced, as he jumped back into his mech to engage the enemy with Iris. Their tandem attacks complimented each other perfectly; the Jedi Shadow filling the empty space between Zoar's wide, powerful slashes, their lightsabers falling in unison with Hassel's, each swipe pushing him back towards the now-open door.

For once, Zoar wasn't afraid. He was sure.

Iris deflected the knight's lightsaber to the side, and Zoar knew it was time. Outstretching the stub of the mech's severed arm, the Padawan called on the Force, pushing with all his might. Overwhelmed and off-balance from the two Jedi, Jann Hassel couldn't stop himself from flying backwards, falling to the hangar floor a moment before their shuttle passed into open space.

It was only a few breaths later before Zoar made the necessary calculations, and threw the ship into hyperspace, escaping the danger. The mech seemed to breath a sigh of relief, before retreating from the Force Meld, and staring at the smaller Jedi with a robotic, blank expression. His emotions underneath, however, were anything but robotic and blank.

//We did it!// The excitable voice of the Miln broke through the suit's speakers. //Kinda. Moderate success.// Then, he practically gasped with surprise, as if he had already forgotten what he had learned mere moments before.

//Iris?! You're a shadow?!? You we-wha-huh... But then... Y-you said... Ohhh.//

- Aurorae -

 

[Aurorae]

Iris pulled the door close with a wave of her hand before finally letting out a breath of relief. Really, once they hit hyperspace she finally let herself relax. And frowned. Under the mask. Which she no longer needed, it seemed. The Shadow pulled off her mask to reveal.. Not exactly Iris. Where there should be her purple iris's there were purple. Where there were scars, pale, smooth skin. It was enough to trick the average facial scanner.

".. Yes. I am a Shadow."

Zoar

 

[Zoar]

In stark contrast to Iris' simple answer, Zoar barraged her with questions and vaguely-connected thoughts, his suit still steaming with heat from various lightsaber slashes.

//How long have you been a Shadow? When we first met? That'd make a lot of sense, you were really sneaky... What happened to your eyes? And your face? And your fingers? OH! Am I not supposed to know you're a Shadow? I won't tell anyone, I swear.//

Then, Zoar took a breath, remembering that brief moment of peace. The mech looked down at the floor. //Thanks for helping out at the end, there. I thought I was gonna die. Really, thanks.//

- Aurorae -

 

[Aurorae]

"Slow down, breath. There's- Oh boy." Iris gave a nervous laugh before she turned to set down her helmet and just find a place to sit. Breath, just a little. The fight alone was enough to tire her. But add in all the actual stealth? She closed her eyes for a moment.

"First, get out of the armor. I think it's still burning. Don't want you to get hurt in there. I started after I became a Knight. So no. Technically what we did was uh, illegal. Ish. Not something to talk about but you're not in trouble or anything. It's all makeup though. Contacts, makeup. Prosthetics. Helps trick scanners. Jedi Knight Iris is well known by the scars she has. Take them away, change the eye colors, and most scanners won't pick up on it. People might though."

Zoar

 

[Zoar]

Zoar took a deep breath, composing himself enough to listen to Iris, instead of blathering on for a few more minutes. She mentioned the fire hazard that was his armor. //Oh, right,// he finally exclaimed, piloting his mech to a safe corner of the shuttle, and lowering it down to the ground.

Slowly, warily, the Miln exited his suit, keeping a close eye on Iris' uncanny face, even as he began to pass over the outside of Golem with a handheld extinguisher, to cool the molten furrows. They were friends, having fought together twice now, but he still couldn't help but feel uneasy in his own body around her, whip-like tail curling tight around his leg.

"Yeah, I k-kinda figured what we did on Denon wasn't... entirely... sanctioned." Zoar's bowl-shaped ears flicked bashfully. "B-b-but I haven't told anyone, don't worry!"

The Miln busied himself by collecting Golem's lost appendage from the ground, cradling it in his arms like a baby. "Sorry I wasn't... Sorry I couldn't fight Mr. Scaryguy on my own. If I had, maybe the mission would have been less... sloppy."

- Aurorae -

 

[Aurorae]

"You weren't supposed to be fighting. I should've figured he'd go to the ship after sensing something was off. .. All that matters is that we did it. Was a little loud, sure, but hopefully they'll just think it was sabotage and not look too much into it." That's the most they could hope for at this point. Finally plopping down she opened her eyes to watch him. Curiously watching as he'd go about his repairs.

"Did you get a master yet, Zoar?"

Zoar

 

[Zoar]

"Even if they do look into it," the Miln said, letting a hint of pride leak into his voice, "I really messed with their data. They won't be able to find anything. I just hope the SIA ain't too mad with us going loud." He cringed at the thought.

Zoar let Iris' follow up question hang in the air a moment, as he popped a set of tools from a compartment in Golem, and got to work mending what he could. "No..." Zoar conceded, after a moment, snapping a pair of goggles over his eyes. "I almost did... but... I never followed up on it."

"I'm not a good enough Jedi to be someone's padawan. I'm pretty good at some... non-Jedi stuff... But lightsaber skills? The Force? My... um... nerves...?" He executed a strained laugh, as if he hadn't just casually mentioned his greatest insecurity. "...I don't want to disappoint anyone."

- Aurorae -

 

[Aurorae]

"Weeeell. I've felt it. Your nerves. First hand I've felt it. Honestly I'm more surprised you're even here if that's how you always feel. It's.. Overwhelming. And just primal, y'know?" Iris hummed as she just started to take off the disguise. No reason to wear it now.

"So.. I could train you."

Zoar

 

[Zoar]

"Honestly I'm more surprised you're even here if that's how you always feel."

Zoar interpreted that the wrong way.

He frowned to himself, his ears pressing down to his skull, as he tried to busy himself with his tools in front of him. Tried to weld his arm back together, though he knew he would need to replace the entire appendage. There was only so much one could do to repair lightsaber damage. "It's a s-species thing," he said, defeated. "Miln evolved at the bottom of our food chain. So... we have a lot of fear. As far as I know, I'm the first, the only, Miln Jedi. There's... probably a reason for that."

Maybe Iris was right. Maybe he didn't belong here.

"So.. I could train you."

"Okay. Ha ha. Very funny." He took the offer as a joke, so low was his self-confidence. He dug into the plates of his armor, stripping a few that would be impossible to fix. "You'd want someone... less like me for a Padawan, anyways. S-someone big, and strong, and brave..."

- Aurorae -

 

[Aurorae]

".. Right I think I said it wrong."

Given the colors around him and what he was saying, yeah, she said something wrong. Iris reached out to gently pat his shoulder. Offered a smile.

"I meant it makes you one of the bravest people I've ever met. To try and overcome this part of you that you're born with, there aren't many who can say that. You might not feel like a Jedi, but you are. And I'll teach you how to see it for yourself."

Zoar

 

[Zoar]

Zoar continued to work on his armor as Iris approached him, only turning around to discover she was right there, reaching a hand out to pat his shoulder. Instinctively, the little padawan took a step back, bumping into Golem, before steeling himself again, and accepting the touch.

She called him brave. How could he be brave, when a friendly, outstretched hand scared him?

"And I'll teach you how to see it for yourself."

Realization sparked in the Miln's eyes. "Oh. You weren't joking." After a beat, Zoar dexterously jumped up on his inert armor, to get closer to eye level with the knight. He often had trouble holding eye contact, but now, he tried his best to, searching Iris' face for... something.

"A-are you- are you sure?" Zoar had never been able to completely forget their talk on Denon. Iris had made having a master sound... so nice. Having someone always there to go to for help, for advice, for... company. It wasn't ever something he'd admit out loud, but that kind of bond was one he'd never had. One he... really wanted.

One he was deathly afraid of messing up.

"I'd, um, reeeeally like that." He said that with a little hope, and a lot of low expectations. "But... I... I'm worried I'm gonna let you down."

- Aurorae -

 

[Aurorae]

"More than sure. You're a better Jedi then you give yourself credit for, and I want to help show you that." Iris raised a fist then, offering it with a slight smile. Zoar was the kind of Jedi she wanted to be herself. Fear wasn't something she was used to feeling, but it was all he ever seemed to feel. If she felt that, would she still be a Jedi? Maybe.

But he needed help. And she'd be there to help.

"So, yeah. I'll take you as my Padawan. I'll let the temple know."

Zoar

 

[Zoar]

He was going to have a master.

Zoar had mixed feelings on the matter, as had been made more than clear in their conversation so far. He was... excited. Really excited. But also really nervous. He'd been able to keep to himself so far, for the most part, busying himself with his machines. Not anymore.

Now, his training began in earnest. He would see, whether he wanted to or not, whether he really has what it takes to be a Jedi. Iris seemed to believe in him. Even when he couldn't see it. The Shadow held out a fist, and Zoar didn't flinch away this time. He just stared at it, before looking down at his own claws, stained with oil.

He set his features, balled his own fist, and bumped hers. "Okay. Cool." He obviously wanted to say so much more, but he left it there for now, looking away from Iris as if that would mask his joy-slash-fear.

He continued working on his mech, chuckling a little to himself. "Does that mean I can't call you 'Iris' anymore?" Master Arani would take a little getting used to.

- Aurorae -

 

[Aurorae]

"Ahh that feels kinda weird but also probably shouldn't. I do want you to have the real Master Padawan experience. But we're also good friends, and I don't really wanna mess with that too. Hmm.."

She rubbed at her chin a little, really going deep into thought. then just laughed. Nodded. Of course she was overthinking it.

"Part of being a Jedi is being able to put personal attachments aside to do the job you need to, for the betterment of others. Until the day you're Knighted, we'll make this a proper Master and Padawan relationship. I suppose in a way that's the first lesson, isn't it?" She gave a calm smile.

"That agreeable?"

Zoar

 

[Zoar]

It could have been seen as an awkward situation, and perhaps Zoar felt that a little. But even when they'd first met, Iris had been the more experienced Padawan, his senior. It wasn't that far of a shift for the Miln to make, from friend to friendly mentor.

Zoar nodded at Iris' terms, a bit of joy leaking into his smile. "Agreeable, Master Arani." It would still take a bit of time for Iris' new title to feel right to say. But he could get used to it. "Huh. Aced my first lesson. Not bad."

He snickered to himself, before climbing into the body of Golem, and powering it on again. Much of it's armor was discarded, revealing the wires and moving parts of complex machinery underneath, but at least it wasn't smoking anymore. The mech stood up tall, cutting a proud figure.

//We're... veeery different styles of Jedi. But I'm ready to learn. All that I can.//

- Aurorae -

 

[Aurorae]

"Master Arani. Still weird. But yeah, that's what you should call me. .. Or Aurorae. Actually, we should probably have you refer to me as Aurorae when we're working together like this. Could make you a different golem for this side of life. Probably should. The life of a Shadow is dangerous enough without people knowing who you are to target you. If you want. I do want you to be safe. .. Oh this parts gonna be complicated, huh? Maybe you shouldn't do Shadow work for the time being." Trying to require him to keep track of different identities wasn't something she wanted to do, after all.

Same time, though, she did want to teach him everything she could.

".. What do you think? Do you want to learn how to be a Shadow? Do you have a goal in mind, actually?"

Zoar

 

[Zoar]

The mech seemed to consider the question, his one good arm raising it's finger and thumb to caress his faceplate. //Honestly... I've always wanted to be a Guardian.// It sounded dumb, when he said it out loud. //I know it's not... realistic. For how I am. But whenever I picture the Jedi I want to be, it's with a lightsaber in my hand. Facing the darkness head-on. A protector of those who can't fight.//

Zoar's voice was inquisitive. //But maybe that's because I've only ever seen the good that kind of Jedi can do. Maybe... I can protect the most people by being a Shadow.//

The armor laughed. //I'm sure we could whip a new power armor up to be a bit more incognito. Or I could make a little astromech drone, so I can pretend to be Aurorae's droid partner.// Zoar shrugged. //Or we focus on regular missions. You're the master, Master.//

- Aurorae -

 

[Aurorae]

A Guardian? "Someone who inspires hope and bravery. I can see that with you, yeah." For Zoar? She could absolutely see that. Maybe he couldn't, but the idea of someone like him, born with a natural fear, encouraging and leading others-

"A shadow fights so others never have to. We can't stop everything, but we try. For you, though. I think you'd make a great Guardian. That I can teach you. It'd probably be the hardest thing for you, given what you are. I don't think it's impossible, though."

Zoar

 

[Zoar]

"Someone who inspires hope and bravery. I can see that with you, yeah."

Zoar's smiled ear-to-ear within his suit. He'd certainly been inspired by the Jedi. All he wanted was to give that to others. That fearlessness. The fact that Iris could see that for him made him feel...

Terrified. But also happy.

//I know it's not gonna be easy,// he conceded, crossing his... arm. //None of this has been easy. But... if everything's gonna be hard anyways, might as well do the hardest, most rewarding thing. R-right?//

//And if it doesn't work out... I dunno, I'll join Jedi IT, or something.// He forced a laugh from within his suit. That was probably what was going to happen. He would be confined to the temple, to keep his fear under control, fixing things for the rest of his life.

Not that tech support wasn't a good job to have... but Zoar wanted to help the Order in other ways.

- Aurorae -

 

[Aurorae]

"That's the spirit." Iris was all grins and agreement. Why not strive for the top? She absolutely believed he could do it. Though such belief turned to a frown as Zoar's confidence was immediately seconded guessed. By himself.

"That's not the spirit. Second lesson. You're a Jedi, Zoar. You need to believe in yourself. If you don't, how can you expect anyone else to?"

Zoar