Sorry I shouted…

[Corvus Raaf]

The Golden Slug, a run-down flophouse with a sleazy bar in the lobby, was the only spot of activity on a dead-end side street just off a main underground thoroughfare. Piles of garbage littered the gutter; one flickering sign-the other lights weren't working-provided dim and intermittent illumination. The farther end of the street beyond the Golden Slug was enveloped in pitch darkness.

“You’re probably wondering what are we doing here?" Corvus whispered as they carefully threaded their way through the garbage. A sudden barrage of guttural shouting and the noise of something being smashed came dully from inside the Golden Slug, and a tall, reptilian creature burst from the hotel lobby and skittered past.

"Easy does it,” Corvus murmured, putting a restraining hand on herPadawan's forearm — in case he reacted.

The sign above the Golden Slug's doorway sputtered. GOL EN S UG it announced, two of the letters long since broken in some drunken melee.

"I don't think we'll have any trouble," Corvus went on, "There's no need to have a weapon in hand. But be ready — just in case."

The lobby was a shambles. Most of the furniture that was still intact was unoccupied, except for something snoring loudly on one of the couches. An overhead fan stirred the stale air lazily. A bored clerk, a character with a huge set of ears and a long proboscis, glanced up at the two Jedi, squeaked an exclamation, and disappeared underneath the counter. Several patrons sat at the bar on one side of the lobby. The floor there was littered with debris, the remains of a destroyed table and chairs-and something that looked suspiciously like an arm or a leg freshly separated from its owner.

An unprepossessing figure hunched alone at one end of the bar. Three other barflies sat at the opposite end, as far from the figure as they could get, studiously ignoring its presence.

"Graldo!" Corvus shouted.

The lobby went deadly silent. Even the fan slowly whirring above them seemed to stop its lazy perambulations. The bartender dropped the glass he was pretending to clean and ducked behind the bar.

The hunched figure turned slowly, stepped to its feet, and moved toward them. It had bumpy green skin and bulging, multifaceted eyes; a stubby pair of antennae protruded from its head. Numerous sheathed knives hung from two bandoliers crossing its chest, and more knives rested uneasily in scabbards on its belt. A pair of blasters sat in holsters on its belt. The dim light glinted wetly off the knives where their metal was visible, as if they had recently been used. This being was the meanest-looking Rodian anyone had ever seen — and he headed straight toward them.

As soon as he got within reach, the bounty hunter lurched forward and grabbed Corvus around the waist and danced her around in a macabre circle.

“Hello to you too” she laughed. “And this is Barrien.”

[member=Barrien Siegfried"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

This place made the worst of places he'd seen on his homeworld look like paradise. Garbage was strewn all about, tossed casually this way and that. Broken bits of machinery and durasteel. He'd never seen such wanton waste before. This stuff would be a gold mine back on his homeworld. They'd have smelted down much of the metal parts to be used for tools so that they could till the fields or work the mines, even fell trees.

Why they were there he didn't know. He just knew that that Corvus had said that they had a mission and he was to accompany her on it. That wasn't something to argue against, and he'd been quite enthusiastic about going on a mission that didn't involve defending a planet, or rescuing his sister. Or rescuing himself, for that matter.

They were nearly run over by a tall creature making its escape and he glanced down when Corvus had grabbed his arm, but he made no move of aggression. Barrien wasn't the sort to react to these things in such a manner. He preferred to be attacked before he drew a weapon or did anything drastic, that way any action he took was in self defense. Of course there were times that wouldn't work, when someone was being attacked, for example, but this wasn't such and so he'd let the being go and continued on.

They entered the place, and he could see that it was definitely the type of dingy place one would expect the seedier characters to hang around in.

"Don't worry about me, Master Raaf. Weapons should only be drawn when they need to be used."

He smiled at her and then surveyed their surroundings again. It wasn't long before she called out a name. As soon as she did, the atmosphere changed. Glass shattered and the barkeeper went for cover. The others looked like the end of the world was nigh. A lumbering creature rose and trundled across to where Corvus was. Barrien took a step back but kept his arm at his side, since no weapon was drawn and she wasn't making any move. He still would take a tactical step to keep from getting run over.

But then she was scooped into an embrace and danced about. Barrien let out an audible sigh and nodded when introduced.
"Graldo. I'd say I've heard a lot about you, but my master kept me in the dark on this one. It is a pleasure to meet you, however."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

The Rodian released Corvus and stood at attention. "Jedi Barrien, Sergeant Graldo reporting," he said in an impeccable Basic that contrasted sharply with his appearance. "I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, sir."

The barflies, who had been studiously ignoring the trio, turned their heads for a quick glance, then returned their attention to their drinks. Even the bartender peeked out from hiding.

"Come," Graldo commanded, and led them to the bar; the barflies huddled inconspicuously over their drinks. "Barkeep! Come out from wherever you're hiding — I want to buy a drink for my friends!"

The bartender, a nervous, sallow-faced human, edged up from his hiding place. Looking like he was ready to drop back down to safety at any moment, he poured a dirty yellow fluid out of a bottle containing some kind of root into glasses that looked none too clean. Graldo raised his glass in a toast.

"Aaarrggh! Whew!" Corvus gasped. Graldo patted her hard between the shoulder blades. "Strong stuff!" the Jedi Master wheezed, thumping her chest with a fist.

Grudo laughed. "There's nothing good about the taste of that drink," he said. "It's supposed to incapacitate Gamorreans, Tran-doshans, Wookiees, and other large species, so Rodian bounty hunters can take them into custody without getting hurt."

[member="Barrien Siegfried"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Ahh, a sergeant. Now things were starting to make a little bit of sense. Geraldo was either current or former Republic military. That explained a few things, like how Corvus would know him in the first place considering he was hanging around in a seedy cantina and clearly had a reputation for either causing, or ending, trouble.

Still, Barrien was pleased to make the Rodian''s acquaintance. It wasn't every day that he got to meet new people or new species. This was his first introduction to Rodian's. He did smile and nod his head approvingly and then followed the both of them to the bar where he leaned against it, not sitting.

The drink looked strange to him. There was still a root in the jug. When it was handed over, he took a whiff of it and nearly sneezed. He could tell it was going to be a potent concoction. They had many types of alcohol on his world, but a large portion of it was more fruity and arromatic. Truthfully it was very light in nature. You could drink large quantities before it actually started to affect you.

This stuff went down like fire. He coughed once and wheezed, nearly falling over. He felt like someone had kicked him between the legs.

"What... do you call this stuff?" he asked, huffing for air. "I think I'm on fire."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

The Rodian raised a suction-cup-tipped finger in front of his pendulous snout, so much like a human raising a shushing finger to pursed lips."If / don't tell, you can't tell," the Rodian whispered conspiratorially. Then he turned to Corvus. "I'm glad to see you again, Grand Master. And happy enough to meet Jedi Barrien, as well."

"And I was very glad when I heard you were still here. Though I'm surprised that you haven't found another job."

The Rodian shrugged. "Unfortunately true. Which is hard to imagine in time of war. But... you know the bounty hunter reputation." He shook his head. "Makes it hard for an honest Rodian to find work as a soldier. Do you have a job for me?"

"Possibly."

The Rodian shrugged non-commitally. "Word gets around."

Corvus sighed. "Well, if you know about our mission here, the bad guys know, too, or they will soon." She gave her drink a suspicious look and pushed the dirty glass aside, then said to Barrien, “As you’ve no doubt guessed, he isn't a bounty hunter, he's an old soldier. He's been in more battles and on more campaigns than most regular soldiers. He's led troops in battle his whole life. I want him to come with us. He'll be a good addition to our team." She turned to Graldo. "Will you come with us?"

"So you two are going to be generals on this mission," Graldo said.

“You know me better than that,” Corvus said.

[member="Barrien Siegfried"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"Bounty hunters get a bad reputation because of a few. Often they do work that must be done, bringing in notorious criminals or enemy operatives. Unfortunately, many get bad reputations because they are treated more as assassins than hunters."

He'd been brushing up on the outside galaxy, clearly. That was to be expected considering he knew so little of it. The only way that he was going to learn more was by reading, perusing the holonet, talking with Forza, and experiencing it all for himself. He'd heard of famous bounty hunters like Boba Fett, but that one wasn't so much a bounty hunter as he was a hired mercenary for the Empire in ages past. There were other not so good ones as well.

Corvus brought up their mission and he looked from her to the Rodian and back again as he waited for her to spill the details. She was still keeping him in the dark as to what they were there to do. The fact that she wanted the bounty hunter/soldier to join them told him it wasn't going to be an easy task. When she mentioned their foes knowing they were there, he knew it was definitely not going to be an easy task.

"Why do I have a feeling we're going to regret coming here?"

Lifting a hand, he rubbed at one of the scars on his cheek. A Jedi General was a strange concept to him. It felt wrong to even think of such a thing. When the Rodian brought it up, he could only shake his head. Surely that wasn't what Corvus had in mind for them. Jedi weren't supposed to lead troops into battle, they were supposed to try and dissuade battle from happening at all. The fact that they were both geared up told him that persuading their foe not to fight just wasn't going to happen.

"What is our mission, Master Raaf? Why are we here?"

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

"We have an assignment," Corvs said finally, looking at both companions.

“We have to rescue an important Republic communications hub from falling into the wrong hands. It’s located on a barren, desert planet, officially outside of any government.”

“We go in as just the three of us. We should expect opposition. There are unconfirmed reports that the hub has already been taken. Communications have gone down — pardon the pun — and the team there are either dead or hostages.”

“The greatest challenge is to not draw attention to the site. The Republic can’t admit to having a listening post there. Once the site is secured, it is to be destroyed. Our focus is to ensure nobody else uses it, or learns of what information it has uncovered. It tends to go dark for long periods. So it potentially has a lot of data. Any questions?”

[member="Barrien Siegfried"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"A stealth mission?"

Though he knew stealth missions generally could lead to minimal loss of life, he also knew that sometimes they inflicted the greatest damage. They were going to have to sneak in and secure this facility without drawing a great amount of attention to the fact that it existed. Doing so meant risking their lives to be quiet in their gaining of entry. He was determined to be true to his beliefs and not kill any of the enemies that might be present, but he was also afraid he might have to.

Still, he stowed away the fear and resolved that he would rather he be harmed than someone else, even an enemy. He would not kill no matter what the cost to himself was. If he had to take one for the team, then that's what he would do. That was his way of being a Jedi and being true to who he was supposed to be.

"How are we inserting so that we aren't spotted immediately?"

That was really the only question he had. He was ready to do what needed to be done.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

[member="Barrien Siegfried"]

"Sometimes the oldest tricks are the oldest because they're the most effective. We'll land a distance away and make the remainder of the journey on foot. Then we'll travel in the dark. Most security at this level tends to rely on line of sight. If they can't see us, they can't be alerted. And once we're close, I can use the White Current to get us very close undetected."

"But I can't use it indefinitely, nor use other Abilities at the same time. So once we reach the perimeter, we're going to be visible. OK?"

She looked to them both for confirmation it was an agreed plan.

[member="Barrien Siegfried"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

"So, once we reach the perimeter, the adage walk softly and carry a big stick, applies."

Barrien nodded his head. Though some might find what he said to be humorous, he literally meant that the adage did apply. Once they reached the perimeter they would have to rely on caution and care in order to not be discovered. If they were, however, a nasty blow to the head would suffice to knock out whomever saw them. That was certainly much better than having to kill someone just because they were spotted. Right? He thought so.

A glance was offered between his two companions.

"I am ready to undertake this important mission whenever you both are."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

They made quick progress - maybe too quick - and were soon at the walls of the compound. Yet no sooner had they emerged from the White Current than an alarm sounded and a small group of troopers appeared from nowhere and opened fire.

The sergeant was the one that bore the brunt of their blasters. By the time the Jedi had negated their attack, he was severely wounded.

Corvus appraised their options. Leaving him there was not going to be one she chose, so she decided quickly. "Barrien, take him back to the ship, I'll finish off here."

And she pressed on, uneasy with her decision, but sure it was the right call. But the Force had spoken and that was the reason for her unease. For their presence here was not only known but predicted. And even as she sent her Padawan back to her ship, with the wounded Rodian, she was entirely unaware that a trap had been set. A Sith Knight lay in wait on board Raven, ready to spring that trap.

[member="Barrien Siegfried"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

He thought about saying no. This was probably the first time he'd though about telling his Master no. They'd been ambushed, and while they had managed to fight off their attackers, for the moment, Graldo had taken severe wounds. The Rodian was in need of the kind of medical attention that neither he nor Corvus could offer, which meant that Corvus was right to tell him to take Graldo back to the ship. Barrien just didn't want to leave her alone. He was worried about them being found out so easy.

In the end, he nodded and reached to help the Rodian up.

"Take care, Master Raaf."

Off the two of them went, crossing the terrain and leaving Corvus to deal with their mission. While he felt that he was being pushed aside, he also understood that his mission was important as well. In fact, when he really thought about it, what he was doing was much more important than securing the facility. Their actual mission had been to do the Republic's work for it, which was precisely something he felt was not what the Jedi should do.

They approached the ship and he suddenly stopped. Something was wrong, he could feel it in his bones. At first he thought it was Master Raaf, but when he reached out to her, she seemed alright. He searched his surroundings, but felt nothing. Still, he had a feeling that something was wrong.

"What is it?" Graldo asked.

"I do not know," Barrien replied. "Something feels off. Here and now. I don't know what though."

"Set me down."

Barrien looked at the Rodian, thoroughly confused as to why he was being told to set him down in the middle of this rough terrain. He needed to get Graldo to the ship.

"Set you down?"

"Yes, so you can investigate. I know enough to know Jedi senses are rarely wrong."

That was probably true. And if he went ahead and took Graldo to the ship, whatever bad was wrong might suddenly spring upon them, and they'd both be caught off guard and likely be in serious trouble. Gently, he set the Rodian down on the ground before reaching around to grasp his lance so he could bring it to bear. He made sure that Graldo was holding a weapon. Though the Rodian was, he didn't look like he'd be able to use it for much longer.

He was going to have to be quick. Approaching the ship, he activated the ramp and was immediately greeted by the sound of a lightsaber activating. As soon as the ramp was down, a figure lept at him and brought a red blade down at his head. Barrien was quick and caught the blade with his lance held in both hands. He was face to face with a Sith.

 

[Kamon's OOC]

The Sith stared at him, grinning. It was a Devaronian, a species that Barrien was unfamiliar with. Thus the imagery it gave him of a malicious beast with horns and sharp teeth was enough to send chills down his spine, though not nearly enough to chase him away, or send him running for his life. This wasn't about protecting himself, this was about protecting Graldo and Master Raaf as well. This Sith was probably the very reason they'd been so easily discovered.

It backed off and offered a glance towards the Rodian, who was barely keeping his eyes open at this point. The grin that crossed the Sith's face was disturbing and Barrien knew what was coming. He made his move at the same time as the Sith made his. The two of them raced across the landscape towards Graldo. The Devaronian brought his blade down, intending to kill the soldier, but Barrien jammed his lance between them to stop the attack, and then threw the weight of the Force at the Sith to send him flying away.

It was then that Barrien stepped between the Sith and Graldo. He held his lance in one hand, his shield affixed to the wrist guard of his other. The Sith stood and grinned.

"Well played, Jedi," it said, the last word hissing out of its mouth with venom. "But you cannot defeat me."

Barrien took a deep breath, steadying himself against what he knew was coming. His eyes remained focused, but he let the outside world drift away from him, focusing his mind on the task at hand. With it came the peace he needed. And when the Sith came it him in a flurry of blows, he remained unmoved, blocking with the shield and his lance both. His focus was absolute and he landed a few solid, blunt blows to the Sith's chest, staggering him backwards and angering him. With each step the Sith took back, Barrien moved forward.

Eventually the Sith jumped backwards and held both of his hands out to the side. Barrien could feel him building energy.

"You will die, Jedi!"

Barrien took a deep breath again as he noted that many small rocks and stones were shaking around him. In addition, the wind had picked up. Smaller stones were peppering his lightly armored form. The wind began to move in a circular motion and he felt that he and Graldo both were in danger. Quickly, he moved back to the Rodian, now unconscious, and stood over him. Holding his lance in both hands, business end up, he drew the Force around the two of them and formed a defensive barrier as the Sith continued to grow his power. The Devaronian was cackling madly now.

This maelstrom only grew stronger.

 

[Kamon's OOC]

As it grew, Barrien could feel the pressure against his barrier. It intensified as everything around them flew about. Even he was pushed back a little bit, though he did everything he could not to be moved from where he was. He would protect Graldo with his life if need be. He might not succeed at protecting himself, but at the very least he would keep the Rodian alive long enough to get medical attention on the ship.

He hoped.

The torrent of wind and debris grew so strong the ship rocked on its landing struts. His barrier was starting to crack and he knew that the threat was imminent. He crouched in front of his charge, keeping himself between the Sith and Graldo. So when the lightning came and everything exploded outwards from the Sith, debris and lightning slammed into his body, tossing him back onto his charge as it all pelted everything around them. This was a bad move, really, on the Sith's part, but Barrien was briefly too disoriented to do anything about it.

"I told... you," the sith said. "You... will die."

But he wasn't dead. His body was peppered by debris, some of which had pierced him as if it were fired from a projectile weapon. He hurt all over and was bleeding in places where his light armor didn't serve to really protect him. Lightning had lanced across the cloth, shredding it and burning skin beneath in some places. It hurt. He wanted to scream in agony at the pain he felt. If nothing else he wanted to lie there and cry. But he wouldn't.

He couldn't.

Slowly, he pushed himself back to his feet, lifting his head to focus on the Sith. Hand, outstretched, called his lance back to him. He grasped it firmly as he stared at the Sith, who stood in amazement, though breathing heavily and obviously tired. The move he'd done was a powerful one; it had taken most of his energy to use it. Barrien had expended little energy, though the injuries to his body were great. He still had a job to do and he would do it.

Calling the Force into his muscle, he ran at the Sith at speed, and slammed the shaft of his lance across the Devaronian's midsection. Surprised, the Sith heaved over and sucked in wind. Barrien spun crisply and smacked him across the back of his head with enough Force to knock the Devaronian unconscious, sending him sprawling into the dirt.

Now Barrien allowed his body to relax. He fell to a knee, barely able to lift himself, but he couldn't stay that way. He drug himself over to Graldo, and proceeded to drag the Rodian onto the ship so that he could be tended to by the medical droid. Or at least he hoped there was a medical droid. Forza wasn't going to be much help to them. A protocol droid was good to have around, which was why Barrien had brought him, but he was useless for medical matters.

With Graldo secured, Barrien went back for the Sith, drug him onto the ship, and secured him with Force Binders. Then he lay down on the floor, and did what he could to control his pain as he waited for Master Raaf to return. He kept alert enough to know if anyone else was coming. He still had to protect Graldo.

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

The release of the prisoners and the securing of the site was easy. Almost too easy. Corvus was expecting a stiffer challenge and wondered why those that had taken it hadn't left more people to defend it. But they were all cuffed and none of the Republic personnel were badly injured, so she agreed to radio their circumstances once she reached orbit - and also agreed to take a data-disc with her, to allow the site to remain in darkness for as long as possible.

They also agreed a new protocol for a ship to stop by irregularly to check in on them.

So, pleased with their success but wary of Graldo's health, she hurried back to Corvus. Once more the nagging feeling returned and she sprinted the final kilometre, using the Force to add to her speed.

She approached the ship warily. Fortunately her corvette had medical facilities and both Graldo and Barrien were being tended to. And they had a guest.

She smiled, as much out of relief as anything. "So, I suspect you had the greater ordeal. Please tell me about it." As she listened, she grabbed a datapad and tapped away, setting it down before Barrien finished the story.

[member="Barrien Siegfried"]

 

[Kamon's OOC]

Barrien looked up at Corvus and heaved a sigh of relief. He'd been worried that another Sith had been waiting for her at the facility and would capture her or worse. He was much relieved to see that was not the case. Which also allowed the tension to flow out of his body, which the Droid had been trying to get him to do for a while now.

"I was brining Graldo back when I felt something was off. Geraldo insisted I set him down and investigate, so I did."

He winced slightly as the Droid worked on his lightning burned side.

"When I lowered the ramp, the Sith attacked. I stopped his stroke, so he tried to run and kill Graldo. I made it in time to stop his blade and then fought him away. He kept trying to press but I kept pushing him further and further back with light blows from my lance."

The Droid toddled off, finished with his work, and Barrien sat up. He still felt his injuries but he was feeling good enough to afford his Master that respect. Besides, he had every intention of checking on Graldo and making sure that the Rodian was alright as well.

"The Sith got agitated and resorted to doing something that sapped most of his energy. It was like a big windstorm accompanied with lightning. I set up a barrier around myself and Graldo but the Sith broke through it."

He slid, shakily, off the table, doing his best to stand.

"He broke my barrier but I shielded Graldo with my body as best I could. Then, with the Sith tired, I struck his stomach and then the back of his head, knocking him out. Then I brought Graldo and the Sith in here. I need to check on Graldo to see if he will be alright."

[member="Corvus Raaf"]

 

[Corvus Raaf]

Corvus listened and nodded as Barrien told the story. “You performed well my…” her voice trailed off. “My Padawan,” she finished and she smiled warmly.

Corvus indicated he should follow her and she took a seat in the main chamber and indicated Barrien should stand in front of her. There was a chime of an alarm and the holographic figures of the Jedi Council appeared, one by one, in the room.

All eyes were on Corvus, who stood once more, her face beaming.

"Your period of service is over my young Jedi. You are ready to join our ranks as a Jedi Knight."

"I am reminded at this time, as I always am, of the words of Valenthyne Farfalla, who considered this ceremony as one of great joy. But also of great sorrow. He believed it would help you remember that, in life, the two are often closely linked."

"We are all Jedi. The Force speaks through us. Through our actions, the Force proclaims itself and what is real. Today we are here to acknowledge what the Force has proclaimed."

"By the right of the Council and by the will of the Force, I dub thee Jedi, Knight of the Republic."

"Barrien has performed his actions with great skill and fortitude and my reports on his progress have been highly regarded by the Council that you see here today. I have no doubt that in demonstrating the behaviours and values of a Jedi we can now formally confirm his promotion to the rank of Knight."

Spoiler

Congratulations Barrien - you thoroughly deserve it.

Please use this thread/post to claim your tags…as FL of TJO the promotion has been approved…

[member="Barrien Siegfried"]