Red Skin, Green Skin

[Bubák]

"Oh..." Ane'irna realized she has been holding the Sith Pureblood's hand the entire time, quickly letting go of her, breaking the eye contact. That was awkward, but the young Twi'lek quickly came with words to say, bringing attention to the more important subject. "If you know of a place to eat where you won't be bothered because of your race, I say go there and get something to eat. I still have to complete my patrol..." The girl said and looked back at the Pureblood. Her skin seemed to be almost blood red in the dim lights, contrasting with Ane'irna's light green. The teenager wasn't entirely sure she wanted to go somewhere with a mercenary she had just met. While the Sith Pureblood seemed rather nice, Ane'irna was too devoted to her duty to the Jedi Order, thus she had to finish her tasks first before having time for herself, time she usually used for meditations and exercises. Still, she hoped the Sith had been affected by her beliefs a bit.

@[member="Siqa"]

 

[Siqa]

"Not exaclty like that, but at least they won't say anything." I explained, knowing the place we were going wasn't eaclty keen on my being Pureblood. But at the very least they were the types not to argue with the customer no matter what species they were. I nodded my head to indicate her to follow at which point I went silent. I knew it would be a few minutes before actually reaching the place but I wanted to let the Jedi do whatever talking she wanted, mainly on the fact I was still confused by all this. I mean a Jedi girl was being nice to me, a Sith PUREBLOOD. The people who started the cult that grew into the order that became the Empire who stood against everything the Jedi did. It was like a walking paradox. And then there was the fact I was getting THAT feeling around her and she was still a kid. Man this was an odd day....

@Ane'irna

 

[Bubák]

The Twi'lek looked into the Sith Pureblood's red eyes first before bowing. "I apologize, but I really cannot go with you right now. I have to complete my patrol in the area surrounding the Jedi Temple and report back. If I do not return, they will surely come looking for me. You know what would they do to you. And me, aside for being scolded for placing fun above my duty, I might be branded a traitor to the Republic," she sighed, " As much as I love the Republic, its democracy and freedom it offers, there is too much hate towards the Sith and their Empires, some calling for very radical ways of dealing with them." The green skinned teenager explained, hoping Siqa understood.

@[member="Siqa"]

 

[Siqa]

"Hey, no worries." I said , putting my hands up before resting them on her shoulders. "Look, how about I at least finish your patrol with you." I knew she was going to say something about the Jedi but I stopped her by putting my finger on her lips and saying "I'll hang back once we go back to the temple so they won't see me. It'll be fine. It'll be nice. Fun even. Four eyes better than one, right? Come on." I gave a friendly smile and wink to try to convince her more.

@[member="Ane'irna"]

 

[Bubák]

"Of course," smiled Ane'irna, seeing the Pureblood's wink, "I will gladly have you at my side. Just put your helmet on, people must no see your face..." She stated and turned around, finally about to get out of this dark alley and be in a well lit area again. She felt so unsafe, despite being with a person that definitely did not want to harm her, yet the shadows and dark corners gave her the creeps as the teenager knew someone or something might be hiding there. The Force told her of no one in any of the places though. That reassured her a bit, but no more than the Sith Pureblood walking behind her. Surprisingly enough, the way back into the streets did not take long with her mind clear and remembering the chase that ultimately led the two into this place. Once she emerged from the alley, the Twi'lek instinctively reached for her hood, only to realize she had lost her cloak during the first chase when she wanted to catch the thieving man, so everyone could see her lightsaber now and be on guard to avoid all trouble. Which meant the rest of the patrol was entirely pointless. All in all, this watch felt pretty good though, getting a criminal in jail and finding a new friend.

Slowly pacing through the crowd, hoping to see any suspicious activity going on, the Twi'lek was left a bit disappointed when she circled the area around the Temple without anything else going on. Before returning though, she found her Sith Pureblood friend among the sea of people. "Please give me a few minutes, Siqa. I will report my return and then we could go to the place you know, if you want..." With a soft giggle, the green skinned girl smiled at the Pureblood and jogged towards the massive building, ultimately disappearing from the Sith's sight as she walked through the entrance. Her next actions only took a few minutes, basically just letting her superiors know her patrol was complete before taking a new cloak and the few credits she had. For a moment, she thought about going somewhere with a mercenary, and decided today she'd pass on her training and meditations. She could do that every day, but only this day she had the opportunity to learn more from a Sith Pureblood. Eagerly, she paced through the hallways towards the entrance and left the Temple for the second time this day.

It took her a while to find the Sith Pureblood, eventually having to resort to using the Force to distinguish the darker signature the Sith possessed. The girl approached the red skinned woman, a warm smile on her face. "Lead the way, Siqa!" she laughed and followed the armored Sith through the streets, her lightsaber once again hidden under her cloak, as it should be.

@[member="Siqa"]

 

[Siqa]

The girl was smart, smart enough for me to like even more. I followed her lead and put my helmet on while staying back from her during the patrol to make sure no one noticed. Good thing nothing big happened during the rest of the time. When she went back to the Temple I watched as she did before finding a good spot to sit and wait. I'd been resting on a large cooling unit behind on building as I did. I had a good view of the Jedi Temple from there, taking in how nice it actually seemed compared to most other buildings I'd seen all over the galaxy. Heck I kind of liked it more than the Sith Academy. When she finally came back I hopped down and indicated for her to follow me. I lead her to one of the few spots I could go to on Courascant, a decent little eats place on one of the lower levels of the city. The mon calamarian at the head of the place waved me in and let us take a seat. I took off my helmet and, of course, the guy paid no mind. He did take note of the Jedi with me however but a quick word patched things up enough for him to take our orders.

"I'll have a nice bottle of Dantooine burben. And get the kid here a soda." I said, pointing to @Ane'irna I looked at her and said "Hey, don't look at me. You're still a teenager after all."

 

[Bubák]

“I am completely fine with a soda,” smiled the teenage Jedi, sitting opposite of the Sith Pureblood, “I don’t drink alcohol anyway. I’d numb my senses. I cannot afford that!” When given the ordered drinks, Ane’irna poured the soda to a clean glass, glancing around as she did. Nobody seemed to pay any real attention to the red skinned Sith Pureblood, maybe because they confused her with a Zeltron. Actually, Ane’irna wouldn’t be surprised if Siqa had lied about her true race in the past, claiming to be one of those pink skinned people who loved to party…and manipulate others with their pheromones. For someone who had seen many pictures of the Sith species, there was no problem at telling the two races apart, especially when one of them sat right at the opposite side of a table.

“Forgive me for asking, but I never understood something about the Sith Empire and you might help me understand it. You see, I have been fed by the Republic propaganda, but I want to make my own picture of how things work in there. Is it really that terrible? How do ordinary people live there? Just like here, one would not recognize the difference? And what about criminality? Are criminals truly recruited to the ranks of the Imperial army, or are they sent to prison? I have been hearing that the Sith and the Imperials terrorize their own people, but I am having a hard time believing it. If that was the truth, the Sith would have been overthrown a long time ago. Instead of that, the people fight to the end in an attempt to save their Empire. Why is that?” Ane'irna always wanted to find out how the demonized Empire really worked, so this meeting presented her with a perfect opportunity to find the truth.

@[member="Siqa"]

 

[Siqa]

The drinks had arrived by the time she asked be all those questions, one right after the other. I was actually surprised she managed to squeeze so many in in almost one breath. I took one sip f my beer before saying "To be honest, girl, there's only so much I can tell. I some regards it isn't what you'd think of as nice as being in the Republic space. The Sith enjoy their power, and like a lot of people who enjoy power they abuse it. Their targets tend to be those who don't have power like them. In terms of criminals it all depends. Some they keep others they don't, depending on how useful they can be. Some even have the potential for being Sith. And as for loyalty to the Empire, there's only so much of that actually around anymore. But from what I can tell those who fought either actually were loyal to the Empire or they just couldn't afford to see it fall. Their only way of getting paid or something like that."

@[member="Ane'irna"]

 

[Bubák]

Raising the glass and sipping the cool water, the young Twi'lek Padawan listened to Siqa. She portrayed the Sith Empire as a terrible place nobody would want to live in except the Sith themselves, but the Pureblood's opinion was of course biased and thus Ane'irna did not take it too literally. The Twi'lek did not blame the red skinned woman, she wanted to make her see and believe her picture of how the Empire looked and worked, while the version would be vastly different if coming from a mouth of an Imperial. After refreshing her green lips a bit, Ane'irna put the glass back down on the table, another question in her mind. This time concerning another big players in the galaxy, the CIS. The girl's limited knowledge of the factions gave her no other option than to ask and hear it from someone who had been there.

"Siqa," said Ane'irna as she looked up from the glass, "What about the CIS? How is life there? Please compare it to the Republic, if possible. How do the Force sensitive organisations work there?" Another sip from the glass, this time more slow as she could not stop herself from glaring at the Sith Pureblood, eagerly awaiting her answer.

@[member="Siqa"]

 

[Siqa]

"Well, basically we work kind of like the Jedi." I began explaining, knowing I could get into this a bit better than talking about the Sith Empire. "The CIS is almost like your Republic, only we have more Independence in a sense. The Templars have their own order that works both within and outside the CIS officials if need be. Though most of our battles involve clones fighting instead of droid or the usual soldiers. But it is, for lack of anything else, a nice change from the Empire."

@Ane'irna

 

[Bubák]

"I see," nodded the young Twi'lek. The comparison of the Templars and Jedi Order Siqa made intrigued Ane'irna, so much that she decided to inquire further. The only thing that bothered her a bit was using clones as soldiers. Ane'irna could not decide what she disliked more, making people with their sole purpose to kill and die, or recruiting valuable originals and wasting them like the Republic likes to? She had to admit, using droids seemed like the most ethical way of producing troops, and also much cheaper than growing clones. Just the thought of creating a living and breathing being to use it as a cannon fodder sent a cold shiver down her spine. Taking a large gulp of water in response, she set the glass on the table before asking again.

"Tell me something about the Templars. Their structure, ideals, beliefs... Do they have some sort of code? How many of them exist? How much similar are they to the Jedi? What about the Dark Side?"

@[member="Siqa"]

 

[Siqa]

"Easy, easy." I said, trying to calm her down from all her questions. "Look, there's some stuff I can't tell you and some stuff even I don't know. I'll say this much, when it comes to the dark side the Templars don't care who uses it, as long as they use it for the right reasons." I was being honest with her as best I could. Not that I didn't trust her but there were things I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, no matter how much I got to know them or befriend them. But then some of her questions were some I had myself. I was still an aspirant and I didn't know everything for the Templars.

@Ane'irna

 

[Bubák]

“Hmm,” muttered the teenage Twi’lek and brought the glass closer to her lips to have more gulps of water. Siqa certainly remembered her place and duty, not answering some sensitive questions about the CIS, and Ane’irna respected the red skinned woman’s will. Not everyone would stay mindful of these things when drinking wine and talking to an attractive Twi’lek. The Sith Pureblood still gave her some insight into the Templars, particularly their partial tolerance of the Dark Side. This prompted the Padawan to speak, a slightly disapproving tone sneaking into her otherwise warm voice.

“Many argue that the Dark Side can be used as long as it is used for the right thing, but people who claim so don’t have much insight into how the Force works. When you call upon the Dark Side, whether you do to save an innocent or kill an enemy, you tap into your own emotions and allow your body to become a conduit of the Dark Side. No matter your intentions, when the energy given to you by the Dark Side and empowered by your emotions courses through your body, it corrupts you. While we often claim the Sith are slaves of the Dark Side, I believe that is not true at all. See, the Sith are trained to control the Dark Side and bind the Force to their will, so while it corrupts their body, their minds are surprisingly clear of its influence. Some Sith who don’t use Dark Side powers extensively even manage to stop the corruption of their bodies. We, Jedi, are not raised and trained to control the Force. We serve it, therefore when we use the Dark Side, it is us who become its slaves, slowly but surely. Those who claim to serve the Light while using the powers of their enemies for greater good are fools.”

@[member="Siqa"]

 

[Siqa]

Fools, huh? I was starting to think the kid needed to see for herself how not everyone is a fool just because they use the dark side. Hell my people were the ones who began to harness the dark side. They were the ones who started to see its potential. I moved my drink to the side and leaned forward while putting one arm up on the table, positioned as if i was going to challenge her to arm wrestling. Instead I put one finger up and, using the dark side magic I was taught, made a small black flame from my fingertip. I made it big enough to the point were it was the size of a golf ball. "This make me a fool?" I asked.

@Ane'irna

 

[Bubák]

Ane'irna flinched in disgust upon seeing the black flame made out of Dark Side itself. And the sight of it wasn't the worst, the young girl could feel it in the Force. The power radiated darkness, a pure form of the opposite of the Light Side. "Yes," she said wryly, "You are a fool for using it and doing so in such a careless manner. Don't you realize it corrupts you? It is so slow you can't even feel it, but once you realize what is going on, it will be too late." The Twi'lek Padawan let her words sink in before continuing, "Please, Siqa, don't use the Dark Side. You're better than that." The teenager begged, looking into the Sith Pureblood's eyes again. It seemed very tragic, Siqa had escaped her Sith heritage only to turn around and slowly start walking back to it. Ane'irna did not want to see another good being get swallowed by the Dark Side, as it happened to so many others.

@[member="Siqa"]

 

[Siqa]

"I know I'm better." I stated as I turned the fire off. "So much that I've learned to not let it get the better of me. Say what you will but I know how to think without letting the dark side control me. I control it. My people were the first to discover its potential and I was trained as a Sith, remember? I think I know if I couldn't contain it. I think you're just as afraid as the rest of the Jedi are and you're afraid to admit it."

@[member="Ane'irna"]

 

[Bubák]

"If you say so," the Padawan smirked at the Sith Pureblood, "But do not get overconfident. You may be trained in the Sith arts and know how to avoid being corrupted by the influence of the Dark Side, but if you say you control it, it means you are letting your guard down. The Force can never be fully controlled. My theory is that the Dark Side only pretends to be your servant while it is waiting for the right moment to take over your mind." The teenager leaned back in her seat. "I wouldn't say I am afraid, just cautious. There were many examples in the history that the Dark Side is particularly dangerous to those without proper training to use it. As such, I will never use it because it'd easily corrupt me. I serve the Light, the Force acts as my ally and I have no need to use the Dark Side at all." She felt almost proud of it, never allowing the darkness take over her, but she also found herself respecting those who used the Dark Side safely without becoming monsters. Not many of those among the Jedi though.

@[member="Siqa"]

 

[Siqa]

I leaned back in my seat just as she did. When she went on saying how she wouldn't use the dark side I almost sprang at her and said "And you shouldn't, kid. Not in your state. Really, I don't think I could stand to see you go down the same path I did." I didn't realize that my hand had made it's way onto hers while I was saying this.

@[member="Ane'irna"]

 

[Bubák]

"I am a Jedi. True Jedi do not use the Dark Side, ever." Ane'irna stated, her mind filled with determination not to betray her words and beliefs. She did not want to disappoint her Master either. After training her, the Togruta Knight deserved to see her apprentice as a successful Jedi, not another fallen Padawan. As long as Ane'irna stayed true to the Jedi Code, their beliefs and ideals, she would stay on the right path.

Suddenly, she felt something touching her hand. Glancing down, her blue eyes saw Siqa's hand was to blame. Ane'irna took it that the Sith Pureblood wanted to reassure her and give her strength to resist the Dark Side, so the teenage Jedi gently grasped the Sith's hand. "I promise I won't fall." Ane'irna almost whispered, staring at the Sith and squeezing her hand a little bit. The Dark Side was present in Siqa, no doubt about that, but perhaps the woman truly knew how to control it and used it only for good. That wouldn't change the Padawan's opinion on the Dark Side at all, though it certainly showed her that not all Dark Side users had to be evil, just as all followers of the Light Side did not have to be good.

@[member="Siqa"]

 

[Siqa]

"Good." I nodded before realizing our hands were together. I drew mine away and leaned back, feeling a bit awkward by all this. Why was I feeling this way about a kid? I had no real idea why. I'd met and came to beforehand those younger than her and yet never felt this way about them. Was it because she was a force user like me? No, I'd met many of those. A Jedi? No that couldn't be it. SO why then?

@[member="Ane'irna"]