Private Questionable Affairs

[Kyra Perl]

Rumors of the encroaching sith threat had been rippling throughout the padawan classes.

First the attack on Silver Rest, then the encounter on Wayland. It was suddenly much easier to believe the silly prattle of her classmates when they babbled about impending battles and gun fights. The concept seemed impossible to Kyra, who until now had been raised in a bubble of safety. But it was hard not to see the signs creeping up everywhere-- extra security procedures, guard numbers increasing, even their classes had abruptly doubled in intensity.

The masters were trying to prepare them for something, but in her heart of hearts she knew she'd never be ready.


Sleep was hard lately, and not because of some stupid cliche thing like 'stress over her future'. No. She had been shot and she had killed, and the circumstances over it were a major downer whenever she tried to close her eyes. Which was frustrating. She needed her beauty rest.

But it wasn't coming, so instead of torturing herself and getting strangled by sheets, she shoved on her bomber jacket and took to walking the campus. This was totally against curfew, but that concept didn't do much for a bunch of teenagers taught how to be sneaky. Kyra didn't want any trouble, she just wanted the fresh air on her face and the stars over her, so she took to the main compounds-- offices. Library. You know-- stuffy, official places that were already locked up and abandoned for the night.

The side walks were clear and the air around her was silent. For a moment, the little empath felt at peace.

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

The cyborg assassin had been sent to Kashyyyk not to kill, but get information. Her brain was human, but her body was much more than that. Processes had been done to her when Bryn was a teen and her mind washed of who she had been. Not once did the girl question what was going on or what had happened. She did not know the difference between right and wrong and had no problem killing if she had to.

Orders had been given to her to keep this assignment quiet. That meant no killing unless she had no choice. Wearing a mask to hide her face and a dark outfit to keep her from being seen easily, the now woman came over the wall in the darkness. Barely a sound was made as she landed and she stood still just to make sure nobody had seen her.

One might think her nervous, but that was far from the case. Bryn was trained at this and used all the skills she knew to keep hidden. Any ability to use the Force was hidden and buried. None of these Jedi would be able to sense that on her hopefully.

The compound was sleeping and this was the perfect time for her to make her move. Doing her best to stay out of the light, she crept along the shadowed wall until she no longer had the choice but to step out. Going for the nearest door, she sliced into it easily and shut it almost silently behind her.

There were dark halls and empty doors in front of her. Stopping to listen, she did not hear anybody on this floor. If she had been holding her breath, she would have let out a sigh of relief, but that wasn't who or what she was. Being here for a purpose, the more soldier than Sith set about doing just that.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

The calmness around her was broken by one resounding 'plunk' that rippled through her mind's eye. As much as she hated to admit it, she had grown to like the overwhelming stillness of a jedi master. Being around one was a balm to her mind, the little empath more susceptible to outside emotions than she'd ever admit.

So when someone showed up that broke the usual 'kumbaya' of Silver Rest, she noticed.

Someone around her was massively determined. In an unsettling, detached way that just.... didn't make sense to her as sat on a garden wall overlooking the courtyard. A padawan, maybe? She had met a few odd padawans, she had to admit. But for a padawan to be in this area with those feelings... Her gut churned uncomfortably.

She held her breath, unmoving in her own wall of shadows as she tried to fuss out the originator's location. She blinked rapidly as she caught sight of a figure slipping into a building. Not just any building-- the archives to boot. What padawan would want to break in there? She jumped up on her toes and ran along the length of the wall, a force assisted jump clearing her over the walk-way lights. She landed silently on the other side and tip toed over to the door.

It swung open at her touch.

She froze, eyes wide as she glanced over her shoulder.

With no one watching, she slipped in herself, her saber slowly lowing into her hand. She resisted the urge to whisper hello, swallowing the word back in her throat as she closed her eyes... and tried to follow the offputting emotions like a beacon.

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

Even though Bryn had been on more than one mission, this was the first that took her to the heart of what could be thought of as enemy territory. She might have remembered to keep her Force ability buried and hidden, that didn't happen with her emotions. Those that she felt, at least. The woman was human, so had emotions, but she hardly considered them in her day to day life.

This was the middle of the night and everybody was asleep. Once she was inside, she waited a few moments longer before moving on again. These first rooms wouldn't hold anything she needed anyway. Not noticing the door open and close silently behind her, she advanced into the next hallway.

It was almost dark inside with the only light coming in from outside. This was just fine with Bryn because of her cybernetic eye. As an enhanced being, she could use that eye to see in the darkness as if it was day. What training she had over the years had only improved her skills and this was one of the first she had mastered.

To think the assassin could be snuck up on was something that never crossed her mind. Feeling she was good at what she did and usually faded into scenes, sticking out like a sore thumb tonight just did not occur to her. Because of this, she did not have any weapons out, but did have more than one at hand. Just in case.

Like a ghost, she moved from room to room searching. By the time she came to a second hallway and more doors, she stopped. Wondering if she had somehow made a wrong turn and ended up back where she began, she closed her eyes and focused on what she was here for. Within the Force, she felt where she needed to go.

Perhaps that small use would draw the attention of her follower, but the soldier was unaware of it and buried her ability once again. Turning to face the direction where she felt that call originate, she headed that way.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra liked to picture she was being some blind epic master right now-- following the force, depending on other senses to save the world! Of course, she did not actually expect to need to save anything right now. As odd as the emotions that caught her attention were, it seemed far fetched to believe she wasn't following anything other than another mischievous padawan.

Which excited her.

Her assumption was only solidified by the flare of the force ahead of her. Her eyes snapped opened. She smiled to find they had already adjusted, and the thin glow from the street lamps outside were enough to paint a colorless picture of the space around her. She moved quicker then, her confidence regain as she easily side-stepped furniture and followed the simmering trail of a presence that just.-- She pressed into the wall of a hallway, her ears perked at the subtle sound of life inside the room she stood outside. It was nothing major-- a rustle of cloth, a caught breath... the touch of a keypad.

But it was all that Kyra needed to verify what the force was already telling her. Someone was in there. She gave them a moment to really fall into the thick of what they were doing... letting the force swell and build ... guiding her to...-- step out!

"You know we aren't suppose to be in here.~" She grinned, her form blocking the doorway.

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

As soon as Bryn had the location and direction to go, it did not take her more than a minute to get there. Not once did she take off any of her garb and would appear like a dark silhouette to anybody that might look in on her. Not hearing or feeling Kyra coming up from outside the room, the burst of voice behind her caused her to jump.

Giving herself a mental kick for not ensuring herself the area was fully clear, she turned around and found herself face to face with a short teenager. If Bryn had any sort of conscience, the thought of hurting or harming a child would have stopped her. That wasn't the case though and in just a second after she turned, a knife was thrown in the direction of Kyra.

She was more of an assassin than spy so she did not have a very strong ability to fade away like so many Sith could. It might have been her cybernetic enhancements or maybe the woman just was not a strong Force user. Kashyyyk was a strange world to her and being on enemy territory, she knew she was caught.

In a flash, she had grabbed the thrown knife and ran. Attempting to retrace her steps, she ended up at a dead end and without a means to escape, she knew she would have to fight the girl if she was going to escape.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra gasped, her lips parting and her hands raised in shock as knife flipped towards her end over end. A force field shot out from the ends of her fingers, the sudden barrier of light barely deflecting the blade in the time. Before Kyra could process the moment, the woman shoved passed her and hit the ground running.

She had barely been given a beat of a head start before Kyra whipped around, holding a hand out to her.

"Hey wait!"

A force tug went after the woman's ankles, grasping in an attempt to trip her. But maybe it was the dark, or the shock, or maybe Kyra was just a bad shot-- but the affect barely brushed over the assassin's skin. Kyra ran after her, her limps gangily as she half tripped over herself along the way.

"What'd are you--" She slammed to a stop as she turned a corner, recognizing in an instant that she had the woman cornered.

Which was good, but also dangerous. People tend to go crazy when cornered. She raised both her hands in a placative gesture, both showing she had nothing in them, and trying to calm the stranger down. "Whoa-whoa- whoa! Chill! I'm not gonna tell on ya- I just want to talk!" She gave an indignant huff and blew a strand of dark red hair from her face. Slowly... carefully.... she began to straighten to a more friendly posture, backing up her words with a bit of action to boot.

She couldn't help glance back down the hall to where she had found the woman. Her training saber laid dropped on the floor. Please don't make her need it... Said pleading look was dragged back to Bryn.

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

It wasn't the words or the look Kyra gave to her that kept her from attacking, but her body language. It was placating and peaceful, exactly something Bryn should have expected from a Jedi. If her life would have been different, there was a chance their roles would have been reversed.

The Sith stood her ground, but made no further move to her weapons or to even escape. Keeping her eyes locked on the Jedi, her mask would keep everything hidden. The only thing about Bryn the girl might notice, if it wasn't too dark were her mismatched eyes and the fact she was also female.

"Who wants to just talk in the middle of the night and Silver Jedi territory?"

Of course if she had thought her statement through entirely, it would pretty much be answered already. This girl was a Silver and belonged here. Bryn was the one out of her league and territory. Now Kyra knew this as well.

One thing she didn't do was answer the question that had been started by the Jedi.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

"Well... I do." Kyra shrugged almost apologetically, her hands slowly .... lowering.... to her side...

Her keen gaze never left Bryn. Not out of mistrust, as one might expect-- the stranger had thrown a knife at her. It was curiosity that bubbled across her expression. Curiosity that Kyra would have expected she was able to keep to herself, out in this dark clearing with poor lighting. Speaking of which, Kyra lifted a finger and bit her lip. A soft glowing orb sparked to life at the tip of it. She raised her hand back up, releasing it into the air between then.

"That's better, dont you think?" She asked easily, giving the woman a warm grin.

The grin did not falter when she came to see the figure clearly. Not even when she shook her head and gave a heavy sigh.

"You're not suppose to be here..." Still, Kyra didn't seemed miffed. "Have you taken anything?"

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

The fact the girl actually answered her question came as a surprise and almost brought a smile to the cyborg's face. If it had, Kyra would not have been able to see it anyway. A small light appeared out of nowhere on the fingertip of the Jedi and started hovering between the two of them.

So far it seemed the Jedi was what she appeared to be. A teen that wasn't entirely aware of what went on in the greater Galaxy. However, she proved to not be as dense as Bryn first thought. In stating she wasn't supposed to be there, the Sith inclined her head slightly.

Lifting her hands up to show they were empty, she shook her head. What information she had been able to collect would be noticed on the computer screen of the room where she had been discovered just a few minutes before.

"Does it look like I took anything?"

There wasn't anything physical around that she was after.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra's eyed the woman's hands for a keen moment, before giving them a shake of dismissal and meeting her gaze again. "Not everything you can take can be held."

Kyra knew. Kyra understood who stood before her, and what they might of been after. She gave a disappointed sigh and cross her arms over her chest, holding in the pinch of worry that was growing there. Why couldn't this have just been a padawan? Devilish curiosity from her peers she could handle, hell she would have encouraged it. But-- this-- this--- She couldn't entirely encapsulate in words what Brynns presence meant for her and the fate of Silver Rest. But the feeling in her gut didn't need words for her to understand.

She looked on at Brynn, pained.

"You dont have to do this," she offered softly. "We're just children here. We don't want trouble." Understatement of the year. Her nativity shined through her words. But Kyra's encounters with sith were severely limited. And from what she knew of human nature, she really couldn't believe she couldn't reach this girl.

"What do they have on you? Maybe I can protect you."

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

Bryn knew her entrance had been too easy. At first, she had thought her presence hadn't been noticed by the security here. It really hadn't been very long since she climbed over the wall in the darkness. Perhaps Kyra was what she posed as, then again maybe the teen was more than a padawan. Either way, Bryn needed to find a way separate herself from the Rest and this girl.

Movement behind Kyra caught Bryn's eyes. Her cybernetic eye focused on the forms and she looked above her for an escape route.

"Good job at distracting and keeping me occupied. Now, excuse me, I must leave before becoming more fodder in this great war."

The words and offer almost fell on deaf ears, but the cyborg chose not to reply to them. She was who she was because of what the Sith had done to her. It was all Bryn knew and her mind rebelled at thinking she might have been something else.

Gathering up some strength in her legs to make a jump. The Force stopped her from going far. Looking at Kyra, she just knew that hold was coming from the girl.

"Let me go!"

There wasn't panic in her tone yet since she really didn't know fear. What was there was some pleading though. Something was clear from their exchange. The Sith did not want to die.

[member="Kyra Perl"]

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra's eyes were plastered wide in panic, the girl's hand extended as she struggled to hold the woman mid air. She hadn't meant to use the force on the intruder, her panic had overtaken her. The woman couldn't go! Not with what she knew! And now that Kyra had her like this, she was disinclined to put her down. Something told her the fate of SJO might depend on it. Whether that was melodrama or not, it steeled Kyra's resolve.

"Let me go!"

"I can't!" Kyra cried back. Stain quickly grew across her features, the veins in her temples throbbing as her jaw clenched in on itself. "You'll tell! You'll hurt us- you'll-"

Bryn didn't want to die. The flaring desire practically hit Kyra across the face. The pressure on Bryn's chest lightened for a moment, a wave of doubt unseating Kyra. Was she signing the girl's death warrant if she kept her here? Her first thought was no. Of course not. Jedi don't just kill people.

Unless they're dangerous sith.

But this woman couldn't be a sith, right? She was put up to this, Kyra could read that much as clear as day. She needed protection. From who though, Kyra... wasn't sure.

"They wouldn't kill you..." She protested weakly, her thoughts buzzing chaotically. And that was all it took for her to lose control of the force. She gave a small cry as it slipped away, letting Byn drop back to the ground. "Wait, no!"

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

It appeared to Bryn that the girl was just as surprised as she was about being able to hold her with the Force. For those few seconds that grip remained, those troops moved closer upon noticing the Padawan had apprehended the intruder.

"Don't move!"

Several blasters were aimed in their direction. However, the teen released Bryn from her hold. Whether they would or wouldn't kill the Sith, it didn't matter to her. Getting away did. With her enhanced body, the assassin was off within two heartbeats of being let loose.

Jumping almost straight up the wall, a second later all they could see were her feet disappearing over it.

"Go after her!"

Ropes and lines were sent up and the troops started climbing, their guns hung over their backs. Most likely they were set to stun, but Bryn wasn't going to get the chance to find that out hopefully.

Luckily her dark clothing allowed her to fade into the darkness. Even with that, she was on the Jedi's main planet and nowhere near her ship now. Her own frazzled emotional state would probably act as a beacon to a certain class of Jedi. Making an attempt to calm down, she froze in the tree she was on and took several deep breaths.

Taking the time to look around, her cybernetic eye focused on the people following her. So far they had not picked up her trail, but that would probably change quickly if that girl joined in on the hunt. One last breath filled her lungs before she dropped and ran. Probably making enough noise to wake a sleeping nerf, the Sith ran like she had ghosts on her tail.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Bolts followed after Bryn's heels, their lights dispersing into the tree lines.

"No, wait! Don't hurt her!" Kyra exclaimed, her extended hand turning to the guards in panic. The one closest to her went flying backwards, colliding into its partner as it took aim at Bryn's disappearing form.

Whoops.

Kyra didn't linger on the thought, though daaaaamn was she gonna have some explaining to do! SJO guards climbed over the wall after Bryn. Pure panic blossomed through Kyra, the padawan shoving off a set of hands that reached forward to pull the child out of the encounter.

"Waaaait!"

She jumped up with a force assisted push more powerful than she could muster in any training room. All that practice paying off, she was sure. With her stomach in her throat, she landed lightly on the other side, her senses shooting out for the tell tail tick... yes. The fluctuation of emotions from the intruder was a far cry different from the determined methodicalness of a guard's mind.

Kyra darted after it, constantly looking back. They couldn't kill her!

She followed easily, the girl's mind like a beacon in thick darkness of the forest that quickly swallowed them up. Pushes with the force set her flying, making up for the speed her simple body couldn't match. Thank god Judah Lesan Jr. had her on those morning runs. ... WelshPsych too. The crashing pace of the sith ahead grew closer. Her muscle's screamed in protest, the girl blind to the abrupt fall into the Shadow Land encroaching up ahead.

"Wait! Please! I won't hurt you!" Her words echoed out through the force reaching for the woman's mind. Intention could be felt.

It was pure.

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

Something surprised Bryn and that while the troops carried those guns and even pointed them at her, none of them had fired. Perhaps her fear of them killing her wasn't warranted, but she was not going to just turn herself in. Knowing her luck, she would be held as a prisoner of this never-ending war with no hope of release. That wasn't something she wanted either. So the Sith kept running and hoping to evade capture.

It wasn't like she was deaf, but the cries and calls of Kyra fell on deaf ears. That is until she sent the call out with the use of the Force. Stopping dead in her tracks, Bryn turned around to try and find her chaser. Her eye found her hot on her heals after about two seconds of searching.

She actually felt the girl meant what she said about not wanting to hurt her, but this was war. There would be no capture and she ran again.

The fall hit her and she plummeted like a rock. Hoping to land like a cat, the sithing failed almost entirely. Her body was far heavier than what it should have been due to her enhancements. These also helped her survive the fall. However, it took her several seconds longer than she would have liked before she found her feet again. Stumbling off into the night, she moved at about half the speed she had been using before.

This was new territory and it felt odd. Nothing like the peace of the Rest or even the rest of the planet. There was something wrong here...

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra's screech was shrill and long as she hit the drop off. The force had given her a warning pulse a moment too late. Kyra had done a force assisted jump to propel herself forward in an arch through the trees, but instead of arching back down to the forest floor, she flung like a jumping bean right over the cliff.

And then she was free falling.

Panicked flailing ensued, the padawan struggling to pull her thoughts together in time to-- she softened the fall with a pulse of the force shoving off the forest floor, but not enough. She collided into the hard ground with a muted thud, a crunch occurring in her extended wrist. The screech twisted into a scream of raw pain.

Kyra lifted herself up, fueled by a well of determination that her teachers knew and feared all too well. With tears in her eyes and her wrist clutched to her chest, Kyra continued the chase. Both at half speed now, both lost. She would prove impossible to shake, not while the sith could not control her mind. It was the one strength Kyra bore well in her training.

Kyra stumbled into a short cut-- a round about-- an easier route to travel. Her vision was too blurry to care, all that mattered was that she jumped over a thorny bush, appearing a mere five feet in front of Bryn. It was dark even here, a fact Kyra combated with that little ball of light. It lit up the small space around them, illuminating how dark and twisted the forest floor had become.

The Shadowlands.

"Wait," Kyra croaked, her voice pleading. "We can't be down here, you're going to get us killed." Her good hand was held out, a soothing gesture.

"Let me help you!"

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

This was Jedi territory and now Bryn was helplessly lost. She should have expected the girl to know her way around and that was proved accurate when she appeared just a few feet in front of her out of the dark. Lifting a hand to wipe away some blood that had trickled out of her mouth. That fall must have hurt her more than she realized. The cyborg didn't feel much pain though and had pressed on through it.

One natural brown eye looked across the distance at the blue-eyed teen. There was still a sense of determination from the Sith, but also a need or want. More close to a desire. It was one even Kyra might be feeling herself, escape. While it had two different meanings for each of them, it was still something similar.

"I'm dead if I'm caught."

Her tone was flat and emotionless. Slowly lifting a hand to move back in the direction they had fallen, her eyes never left the Jedi.

"Your men proved that."

Remembering the sound of the blasters firing at where she had been moments before would not be forgotten.

"Why can't we be down here? It's a bunch safer for me than up there."

Her hand returned to her side, but she made no move to run again or attack Kyra. In her opinion, the Padawan was no threat to her and as such, she did not do anything to her.

Kyra Perl

 

[Kyra Perl]

Kyra weezed for breath, her body quaking subtly at the pain that bit at her wrist. "But it's not!" She uttered quickly, still half in a panic. At any moment the woman could change her mind and start running again. Where to, Kyra didn't know. But she was half certain any direction Bryn went towards was death now, and this padawan just couldn't allow that.

There had to be a way to fix this!

"This is the Shadow Land! It's full of all sorts of monsters and creatures that'll eat you for a snack-- and finding a way out--..." She gave a slow glance around, realizing that this statement now applied to her.

"Can be like wadding through a maze..." Her expression slowly crumbled to open dread and concern. "How far in did we go..."

If there was any hope of Kyra knowing a way out, it would become clear even a resident of this planet was lost to this mess. A heavy branch snapped in the distance, letting out a resounding 'crack'. Her head whipped towards the direction of the noise. As life would have it, stampeding through a forest attracts attention. Kyra paled a little further.

"I think.... we have company..."

 

[Bryn Celli Ddu]

"You haven't seen monsters, girl."

If Bryn didn't have a mask on, Krya would have seen her raise her eyebrows at her comment about this place not being any safer. There were things the woman had gone through herself and witnessed that gave some weight to her words. Even if the Jedi had seen the action of war and heard the cries for help from the wounded, Bryn was confident she had seen and been through more.

The Padawan kept talking and the Sith held a hand up just as her enemy pointed out they had company. Provided her hearing was good enough, she might hear the slight humming of a mechanism as she focused her cybernetic eye in the same direction the sound had come from.

She could tell the teen was scared for their safety. Looking up to try and see the sky was a fruitless attempt and she shook her head.

"I understand."

Lowering her head, that sense of determination came back. Something was missing from her emotions and that was what might be thought of as caring for another. It was one of many emotions that had been taken away from Bryn when she was about this girl's age.

"Duck."

A hand whipped out with a knife and it was thrown with a great deal of force behind it. In the darkness, it sailed and a bloody thud would be heard just a short distance behind Krya. Unless the girl stopped her, she would go to pick the knife out from between the eyes of the beast that had tried to attack them.

"We can't stay in one place and need to move. In the day we can find a way out. You go your way and I go mine."

Her tone held no hostility or even question. More she stated what she assumed sounded like a fair deal.

Kyra Perl