Stripes

[Jarrah Uni]

*Jarrah knew better, and yet. And yet. Here she was, her life seconds from being blinked out by the large Rodian who was about to snap her slender neck. How did it go so bad?

Things had started out so well, she was here to make an exchange. Except she had gotten the shakes on the ship in. And when some of the crew realized that she knew how to party, they wanted in. So the delivery was a little light. The Toydarian who acted as middle man was not impressed. It wasn't a taste light. It was a kilo off. She had sold some of it, there was no other explanation. Even though she insisted, and waved her orange little fingers at him, the situation only went from bad to worse and he ordered his henchman to eliminate her.

The Rodian looked menacing to begin with, and now he came for her, his hands darting out, grabbing her montrails and wresting her under control. He was dragging her away from the street, down an alley, where there were less eyes and less light and no chances for escape. Jarrah struggled against his grasp, but anything she tried made no difference. His thick arm across her neck dampened her vocal cords and she couldn't call for help.

Well, this was just great.*

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Non-interference. It was a pretty word that basically meant you were a gutless, no-good coward that didn’t have the stones to step in when a problem was a foot. That was the thought that raced through Sardun’s mind as the togruta female was being pulled into the alley way - he had promised himself that he wouldn't get involved anymore… but old ways died hard. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Years ago he left the Republic to start up the Army of Light against the Sith. With them destroyed he went into retirement, only for the Grandmaster to convince him to return once again. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Even after being captured and vong-formed his duties had weighed heavy on him. Sardun had escaped the Sith just to save the Grandmaster, before returning to his retirement. But here it was again, someone in need of help, [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]just one more time[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px], the ghosts whispered in his mind. [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]What’s the worst that can happen?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Well. He could be pulled into a galactic war again. Forced to fight-[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Ah, feth it. Who was he kidding here?[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Hey.” the heavy, rasping tone called out. It had been years, Sardun was older now… but he was still a bear of a man. Broad, tall, [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]big[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px], there wasn’t any way around him. His presence filled the entire road without even trying.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Leave the gal alone. Take the spice and go.” [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]While you can[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px].[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Jarrah Uni"][/SIZE]

 

[Jarrah Uni]

*The Rodian never slowed down, dragging Jarrah, her elbows flying at his ribcage, trying to get purchase enough to get the henchmen to loosen his grip on her. He had manhandled her from the get go, her lekku were not confined by the tight grip on her neck, but the pressure on the rear lekku was painful enough that she tried thrashing her head in order to hit him in the face with the tips of her montrails. That did it. She caught him across the cheek and the arm moved enough that she was able to get a lungful of air. However, he was extra mad now. He reached over with his other hand in an attempt to twist her head around and snap her neck.

The Toydarian moved in front of the gruff looking fellow, his beady eyes narrowed.*

"Why don't you mind your own business?"

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[SIZE=10.6667px]One warning. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]There hadn’t been more than that in him. The Jedi in him whispered of peace and serenity. To give them another chance, but the [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]beast[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] had other plans. His instincts were already moving, before Sardun knew what was happening. One moment the Toydarian was talking and the very next Michael’s fist ripped through metal, flesh, bone and exited him on the other side. Time slowed down for the former Jedi as he grabbed the thug’s throat with his other hand for purchase, so he could his fist back. The scream was short, agonizing at the end.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]That got the Rodian’s attention. Instead he put the Togruta girl between him and Sardun. Out of nowhere a small vibroknife appeared, almost touching her neck… barely.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Stay back!” the Rodian grunted out.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]But some part of him already knew what kind of shet he got himself into. Sardun didn’t seem amused at all.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Jarrah Uni"][/SIZE]

 

[Jarrah Uni]

*The knick of the knife against her skin made her pause her struggles, she could already feel the pain as the blood welled out along the superficial scratch he had given her. She looked rather wild-eyed at the dead Toydarian and wondered if she was going to make it out of this scenario alive at all. She had karked this one up good. The only way to get away from this one would be to walk away from all of it. The guy she was running for wasn't that dear and the exchange wasn't that light. The Toydarian was trying to screw them over. She could try and sell it to someone else and just make sure the money got back to him but this was getting a little too complicated and dangerous for her tastes. She'd been in a few fights, she'd been slapped around. No one had ever tried to kill her before. This was the last straw.

She remembered rather late that she had a blaster in her jacket, but if she went for it, the Rodian would slit her throat. She was paralyzed by fear, looking at the grey haired man, and waiting for death to take her in some form or another, her heart pounding in her head, pushing the adrenaline through her veins.*

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

"Lad, you got two chocies right now." the old man spoke wearily. His senses were stretched out, surrounding the Rodian. He was looking for intent, regardless of what the sentient was thinking right now his conscious would leave clues. When sudden violence would formalize itself in his mind... Sardun would know and perhaps would be even able to act before something bad happened to Jarrah.

Maybe.

"Let her go, drop the knife and run. I ain't gonna come after ya."

The former Jedi shrugged.

"Kill her. I will make sure your end won't come quickly."

Not a Jedi anymore. He didn't have to play by their rules anymore. Didn't have to play by his rules anymore.

The Rodian was thinking hard, really hard. Every single outcome was racing through his head, before he suddenly dropped the knife and made a run for it. Sardun didn't follow. Instead he just scratched his cheek and then took a look at the girl.

"Don't try to influence people's mind if you can't handle the consequences. Ya ain't always gonna have a grumpy old man saving your ass."

With that said, he started to walk past her and away.

[member="Jarrah Uni"]

 

[Jarrah Uni]

"Hey! Wait!"

*She started after him, leaving the junk on the street, along with the cooling body of the Toydarian. She didn't want to be there when the cops showed up, that was for danged sure. Maybe if the cops seized everything and it looked like she disappeared without a trace... The Rodian was going to tell someone she was still alive. She was going to have to learn to defend herself. She karked up a run and people tended to end up dead in these situations.*

"Look, I just nearly bit it back there, but I karked up and they aren't going to stop coming for me. How did you..." *She pointed to the mess of the Toydarian on the ground.* "...do that? Can you teach me to fight?"

*It was clear she was a little squeamish about the sight of the ruined corpse.*

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Sardun stopped walking.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Did she even know what she was asking? [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]He turned to face her, letting her catch up before showing her the fist that had forced itself through the Toydarian’s chest. It was still bloody at places. Even after rubbing it clean on the dead thug’s armor.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“You want to learn how to do that?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Then again. At least she realized how fethed she was, if she kept on doing what she was doing without some good old fashion preperation. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“Is that really what ya want to do?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]He hadn’t had an apprentice in… forever. Couldn’t remember the last time he tried to teach people anything, didn’t even know if he would be able to do it. It ain’t the same as killing a person, teaching someone the tricks.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]It would take time. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]And patience. Did Sardun have patience these days? Only time would tell.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Jarrah Uni"][/SIZE]

 

[Jarrah Uni]

*She bit back a wave of nausea at seeing his innards on the stranger's hand but she looked into his eyes and she huffed out woefully.*

"I know what this looks like, I'm not an idiot. I agreed to do this run because I needed the money. I didn't think that it would be worth my life. This isn't what I want my life to be."

*She was being really forthcoming, but then again, she had blood trickling down her lekku from a near death encounter that more than likely would just be repeated when it was clear that the spice was not delivered as promised, that the money was not exchanged and that the Toydarian was dead.*

"What's left of it, anyway."

*She had been surviving on the fringe for far too long and it was making her accept choices that she never thought she would agree to. This was not the path she wanted to be on. Something had to change. Starting now.*

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[SIZE=10.6667px]A kid. That was all Jarrah was in his eyes. And one that made him feel even older than he really was, because inherently she reminded him of his early days. After his father died and he had felt lost and all alone, but there was a danger in that familiarity too. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Because it left him feeling sympathy and that was one thing he could not afford right now, that would make him go easy on her… and looking at her? [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Going easy on her was the worst thing he could do, if Sardun was to straighten her out somewhat and turn her into something worthwhile.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]“And what is it that you want your life to be?”[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Important question.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px]Maybe the most important question of all. What was she expecting from him? What did she [/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px]want[/SIZE][SIZE=10.6667px] to be at the end of all of this? Intention was almost as important as execution in a lot of ways.[/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.6667px][member="Jarrah Uni"][/SIZE]

 

[Jarrah Uni]

*That was a hard question her parents had been asking her for years. She never had an answer, and she still didn't but there was a resounding jolt to her entire being. She did not want another knife to the throat and no high was worth dying for.*

"I don't know yet. But I know what I don't want it to be. Please. Help me."

*The look in her eyes was sincere, though she couldn't possibly know what she was asking of the rough looking stranger who stepped in and stuck his neck out for her.*

"I'll pay you back any way I can."

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

"Don't offer payment when ya ain't got nothing to offer, lass." the man said with grunt, before jerking with his head towards the road. An indication for her to follow along for the meanwhile. They started walking while Sardun pondered about this new situation. The lass could be an asset or she could get them all killed during critical parts of operations, could be either of 'em... the question was if it was worth the risk to find it all out. Ol' Sardun would have taken her in without question, Ol' Sardun... he would have won her over with bright words full of comradery and promises - hearts and minds, ol' sunny.

But he wasn't that man anymore. That man was dead and buried behind the decrepit bars of the Sith Citadel.

"My price: I say you do something, you do it. I tell ya to jump; you ain't asking me why or how high, you start jumping with all your strength until I tell ya otherwise. People on my ship pull their weight. You want in, you help in the missions we pull - any mission, we kill, we burn things down, we are mercs."

Sardun snorted. They were killers.

"In or out, Togruta. My next stop is off this world so I gotta know now."

[member="Jarrah Uni"]

 

[Jarrah Uni]

*Jarrah followed him quickly on up the street, leaving the drugs, the money, and everything else on the floor of the alley. She didn't know what to think of him. He saved her but the way he talked, he sounded kin to their self serving nature. She wasn't especially seeing how he was any better than the idiots who had just been trying to grease her but she knotted her brows as he outlined his expectations. What choice did she have? Without knowing how to defend herself, she was as good as dead.

The notion that he was a killer was clear on the drying blood on his hands. Beggars can't be chosers, she thought. No one ever said your hero would be a good guy. There were parables her mother had told her as a child, and as they walked, she tried to remember one. Something about not everyone who gets you out of a rough spot is your friend. Well, a friend would be nice but right now Jarrah needed an escape.*

"I'm in."

*Maybe there was a little defeat in her voice, but right now she had to focus on staying alive and then worry about moral lines later. She certainly hadn't worried about them when she got into the feth.*

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

They were in the Unknown Regions. Old Fringe Confederacy space. One of many worlds that had been protected by the Lords of the Fringe before they dissolved and their organization shattered, but that ain't changing the nature of these people. They still remembered the old days when proud Lords fought for their safety, when there was a flame in the darkness that kept the shadows at bay, and even with the bulk of the old military gone... they kept on trudging on. And probably would keep on pushing, unyielding in their pursuits and without compromise.

The starport of the planet came into view. A few guards were stationed at the entrance. Their posture and equipment told all the tales needed told - former Fringe military, city militia now by the looks of it. They probably had families and couldn't just leave them behind when the old confederacy pulled out.

"Sardun." one of 'em called out once they came closer. Male twi'lek. His gun didn't seem to have seen much action lately, holstered and with the strap around it. He grinned as his eyes scanned Michael's features, didn't seem to be deterred by the hard expressions either.

"Picking up strays again?"

Sardun shrugged. "Gotta get the recruits somewhere. Which reminds me. Male Rodian, member of the local crime elements, is probably going to be screaming loudly about a fether punching through his buddy's chest like it ain't nothing."

"What do you want us to do?"

"Silence him. Scum tried to off the lass after she played a number on him." the twi'lek thought about it for a moment, before exchanging a look with his co-guard. A wookie, who only made one of those whines they usually make.

"Ya'll owe me for this one, friend."

That earned a weary smile back, before Sardun added a snort to the repertoire. "Count yourself lucky I ain't recruiting you. Just get it done and drinks will be on my next time."

With a nod exchanged between the three of 'em, the merc passed the duo and joined the light stream of people flooding into the spaceport. Expecting Jarrah to follow him.

[member="Jarrah Uni"]

 

[Jarrah Uni]

*Jarrah kept pace with him until they reached the spaceport, but when he stopped in front of what had to be a couple enforcers, she felt herself go ashen at the prospect that the gruff angry man was just going to turn her into the authorities because she didn't know what the hell she was done. It was with no small measure of relief that he merely requested that the Rodian be killed. That was a strange feeling but better him than her right?

She fell in behind him again as he entered the crowded spaceport, having kept silent through the exchange. She pushed through the crowds in order to keep up with him, although, she was the only Togruta around so it wasn't like he was going to lose her in the hordes. Her montrails stuck up above most everything else. She showed her id where necessary and, trying to piece out what she could before she came along side him and ventured to ask him a question.*

"What's your name?"

She heard the guards call him Sardun, but she was unsure if this was his first name, surname, nickname, or something else entirely. The galaxy was a big place and Jarrah was still a very small fish in a very, very, very big pond.*

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

"Sardun." the unhelpful reply came from the old man. It wasn't that he was trying to be cheeky or anything else. But his entire life was filled with people being in awe of the name Sardun. Everyone knew that name. Two decades ago it had been on everyone's lips. The exalted General of the Army of Light - the only organization bringing the fight to the Sith Empire while the Republic was sitting on its ass. The High General of the Republic armies, once the Republic did decide to do something. The Battlemaster of the Jedi Order, a member of the Jedi Council itself. Titles, upon titles, upon titles. It had weighed him down, then, and even now the memories made him shake his head just a little bit.

How proud had he been. Like a little, strutting peacock prancing about.

"Michael Sardun." the former Jedi added as an afterthought. Maybe he sensed the frustration, maybe Michael realized that some people hadn't heard of his legend. They were far away from the Core. Who knew where this girl was from.

Strangely he didn't ask after her name though.

[member="Jarrah Uni"]

 

[Jarrah Uni]

*Jarrah gripped the strap on her messenger bag tighter, the wide strip of cording tattered, frayed and dirty in spots. There were pins fastened onto it, some odd pop culture references adorning the worn canvas that held all her belongings. She knew his name, but there was no sense of safety or familiarity between them. He didn't seem interested in knowing hers. He might have prevented her death, but he probably didn't see her as any more of a person than the two who tried to end her life did.

What if his motives were just as nefarious?

What if he was getting her alone on his ship to keep her for his pet?

A million horrible thoughts rose with the bile in the back of her throat. She remembered that she asked for help, that he was content to leave her to her fate once the threat to her slender neck had been dealt with. She took a staggering breath and gripped the bag strap tighter, her knuckles ashen as she silently followed this Sardun to his ship. He didn't seem like the talking type and just asking his name was intimidating enough that she figured she should just clam up.*

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

Sardun used to be a Jedi. That meant being in touch with your emotions and the emotions of people around you. Made it easier, you see. When you could sense the other person's feelings it was easier for diplomacy. So the distress and fear Jarrah was experiencing wasn't unknown to Sardun - it radiated away from her in waves. The former Jedi could almost taste the bile and they weren't even that connected with each other. He wasn't a monster. A killer, sure. Maybe not exactly a nice person these days either, but that didn't mean he was enjoying this anymore than she was.

So he stopped walking. Middle of the road. People around them wanted to complain, until they noticed those eyes. Then they decided to just walk around them, keep quiet and hope they weren't gonna get involved.

Those same eyes took stock of what he got. Young Togruta. The lines in her face told him all he needed to know. No discipline whatsoever if that deal back there had shown him anything.

"Close your eyes. Deep breathes. Find your center." commands. Sardun waited patiently.

[member="Jarrah Uni"]

 

[Jarrah Uni]

*She nearly ran into him he stopped so abruptly. When he turned around, the features of his face had softened enough that he looked a little less frightening. She was puzzled about what he was asking her to do but he had also issued her an ultimatum as well. She wasn't to question him. So there they stood as she closed her eyes, breathing deeply, as the shock of the situation began to lose the edge and the fear took over. She didn't move to stop them, but tears welled up in her eyes, a small one tracing a line down her cheek.

This was a million miles from where she thought she would be, a million further still from the feeling of safety and security she had growing up on Cloud City.

She looked like a mess; a slightly runny nose, watery eyes, dried blood on her headtail, disheveled, and frightened to boot. But the breathing helped to calm her down. She didn't know what he was talking about when he said find her center but he seemed calm so she supposed he wanted her to calm down too. It was awful difficult though considering the things she had been through that day so far.*

[member="Michael Sardun"]

 

[Hira Mitsae]

[member="Jarrah Uni"]

Years ago. When he had been a young Jedi Knight, when life itself had seemed brighter Sardun hadn't focused on his bladework, not on the Force to magnify his physical strength or anything as banal as that. Instead the then-Jedi had specialized in aiding his companions, whole armies in the end, by the strength of his voice, posture, by sheer presence within the Force projected across the battlefield. His men had rallied around him, invigorated by sudden resolve and strength, and battles had been won because of it.

Because he had inspired them.

Force Valor, the Jedi called it. Count on the Jedi to give something so beautiful and natural such a bland name.

But the point was that Sardun might not have been that man anymore, but the ability was still there. Rough around the edges, long since practiced, but it was there.

And Michael used it now. Peace, serenity and calmness flooding the immediate area around him. It would envelop Jarrah and give her an easier time to deal with all of this, hopefully.