The Last Jedi of the Old Republic

[Jakkor Kess]

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Tatooine​

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Tatooine had not changed in all the 850 years of being gone. It still remained barren, the moisture farmers were still there and the Tuskens were always thriving. But for Jedi Master Jakkor Kess... This was his grave. He had spent the last three years here no longer a Jedi. The Last Jedi of the Old Republic had come to die. But not as a hermit no. That was not his way. He would come and live out his days as a Tusken Warlord... He had done this before but after his tribe was murdered by a bounty hunter, and he had met his Master then things changed.​

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Now here he stood in his hut, gazing at his face in a mirror. The years had not been kind, even despite living in the galaxy for almost a decade, he had seen much. WIth awakening, his encounters with the Sith, as well as avoiding the threats that now plagued the galaxy and the Force that had simply left the Light in favor of the Dark. Jedi were now not the peaceful defenders of what was right and neither no longer followed the will of the Force. They had resorted to crusaders who had not wanted to follow the will of the Force but would do anything to destroy the darkness and upset the balance.​

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He had thought that in coming here. The Jedi needed to end at least with dignity and despite to give the Jedi Order at least a final death with some dignity. He had retreated to his home for the first year or two, he would constantly meditate and often wondered what went wrong following Order 66. The Jedi had kept falling so far with never getting back up, that it seemed the Force was all but destined to end the Jedi. He had thought he was safe with the First Order emerging as the ultimate darkness from the Unknown Regions, The Galactic Empire was quickly becoming dominant in the Galaxy, and the Sith were gathering strength. It seemed that the darkness would engulf the Galaxy, and with the Jedi have fallen... Jakkor had no choice but to go into exile disgusted with the Jedi and have lost all faith and hope in the Galaxy.​

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What was worse is that the Empire had claimed Tatooine and that made Jakkor even more worried, pushing his band of Tuskens deeper in the Jundland wastes, and always have to find ways to keep his people alive and well. He would often raid Imperial outposts, stealing weapons and supplies, the darkness often pulling at him but like a Jedi never gave in, and other times often raiding common trading outposts, killing all those in his path except for children who would be taken into a tribe like he and his Father before him were.​

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Now he had gotten ready, after getting ready for the day he had taken a hunting party, carrying his metal staff and watching the beings below them, the hot twin suns burning as he saw the latest trading outposts carrying water vaporaters and supplies for his people he watched and waited. Then he gave out a war cry as his people attacked. Shots being fired by snipers, while Jakkor led his bantha riders with a lightsaber in hand prepared to do his duty for the people as the carnage began.​

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[member="Setzi Lunelle"]​

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

It wasn’t Raxus Prime, but one of the best planets for salvaging in the entire galaxy still remained Galactic Empire-held Tatooine. Between the Jawas, the Hutt Cartel and the abandoned mines, scrounging around in the hostile desert still drew many like Setzi Lunelle, searching for some elusive junk-treasure, an old mechanical part no longer manufactured, a rare material to trade or even something that may turn out to be fool’s gold.

It was easier to hold onto things than people, and the former Jedi Master was out of credits.

She skittered down the ramp of The Pirate's Foe, sand already in her eyes, knowing her large Mobquet Medium Transport looked like a giant bulls-eye where she landed it. But what could she really do? She''d parked it in the middle of a flat, denuded piece of land, and it wasn’t like she could shovel a bunch of sand on the ship hide it. Setzi checked her chrono. Five hours until dusk. With a heavy sigh of trepidation she started along on foot. The former-farm girl needed the money as she’d exiled herself from the Jedi Order - not as if they paid any livable stipend in the first place - but the last real job she had was working at a stimcaf shop undercover with the Silver Jedi. At least there was free java and plenty of cigarras to bum there.

Wrapped up in rough hewn clothing, layers of light, linen scarves wound around her head and face to protect her from the wind and sun, she began to walk, using a long pole-arm to help her move quickly. It could double as a weapon in case she ran into trouble, but she also wore a blaster on her harness and still had her Ilum-crystalled saber.

There was an abandoned moisture farm just over the ridge, and possibly a trading post if her map was correct, but she may have misjudged the distance because it seemed as though she’d walked five miles before she finally saw buildings on the horizon. The hair upon her neck raised, however as she heard sounds in the distance. And for a woman who’d served on the front line of numerous Light and Dark battles, the noises were distinctly war-like.

[member="Jakkor Kess"]

 

[Jakkor Kess]

The raid was pure and simple, kill anyone in the path take any and all supplies and should if any Brother and Sister Tusken got out of like he would chop they're hands-off with his saber. That was the ultimate punishment for the tribesman as if like having your mask being ripped off showing bare skin to the outside and to their clansman. The dishonor of the act would force the Tusken to do only one thing the Tusken people have done in such shame. Kill one's self. Nonetheless, Jakkor rode his Bantha dressed in the ceremonial robes of a chieftain he often stabbed a few settlers in the chest with his staff.

After the battle was done, he oversaw the ruins of the post often directing a Tusken or two to grab a set of Blasters, or perhaps dried meats and vegetables that could be of use. The main prize he was after the moisture vaporators. The ones that help his people in the barren wastes. He looked at everyone after the vaporaters were strapped to the Bantha's, the Orphans were safely taken by his tribesman, and all supplies were taken. He raised his metal staff and gave a loud gutteral cry to his people, to which they had responded.

But all the while as they were preparing to head back, he felt something unexpected. A Force Signature, one very powerful too. He looked away as he thought to himself. "Impossible... Not in all my all my years." Over the last few years he couldn't feel much in the Force, not while the growing darkness was consuming everything in the Galaxy. He directed a few tribesman to wait with him, while he had directed the War Party to head back with their plunder. Jakkor waited touching on the signature with his own after many years. Eagerly waiting to see who this being was and to see if they were a threat... Perhaps a Jedi or one of the Empire's Inquisitors.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

There was an irony to what Setzi had been reduced to on this blisteringly hot day, although she’d agree that she much preferred to be boiled down to her core essence, rather than all of those complex layers spun over her past like loomed silk. Or so she may say to preserve her pride.

Still, toeing through a pile of junk on the outskirts of what may have been a tribal skirmish between Tusken Raiders and Imperials - the Jedi wasn’t sure even after pressing a pair of cracked electrobinoculars to her eyes - should she be ashamed that she was no lofty Jedi?

A brief flash of the Eternal Pyre and a red scarf untied from a fragile neck. The fabric then tossed into the fire, cremation of a memory.

You are no Jedi, Setzi.

As a wild eopie loped by her and she reached down to pick up what appeared to be wreckage from a mobile proton torpedo launcher, she felt the Tusken Raider brush against her, always an unsettling feeling at first when another Force user was inside your head. She marked the spot with a flare that was set to go off once she got back to the Pirate’s Foe so she could easily collect the bigger pieces of junk and straightened up, taking a quick sip from her canteen.

The signature was neither dark nor light, but powerful. Wary but intrigued, she kept walking forward, probably against her better judgment. But when had curiosity ever stopped her before? A thirst for knowledge, no matter how forbidden had started her on her dark journey and while, at times she’d like to excise it from her past, it was a part of her just the same.

Perhaps the feeling of cheating death, evading a terrible fate she truly deserved, kept her in a state of fearlessness.

Always walking forward and not backward.

[member="Jakkor Kess"]

 

[Jakkor Kess]

For a time Jakkor could feel the presence brushing back against him, the Force which he had not connected within such a very long time... He had cursed it that he could still feel it.. When all he had wanted to do was die of course.. Believing himself to be the last of the Jedi Religion... He had not known true peace since the end of the Clone Wars... With the death of his best friend at his hands... Being locked in a Sith Casket tortured for eight centuries... Waking up to a time where he should have been long dead only to find the Galaxy became a living hell... For a Padawan he had gone through much, drinking most of his time away... And even now he still suffered from his PTSD which made him contemplate Suicide many times.

Still if the Jedi were to end... He would end it himself and with the dignity, the Order had deserved. Despite the Order rising from the ashes, they had all but given in to fear and anger. Fighting the darkness with darkness betraying the very foundations of the Jedi Code. It what had droved Kess into a further depression. It had what caused him to leave his family... To disappear for years contemplating the nature and the very will of the Force. Perhaps the Force had destined for Darkness to rule and the prophecy regarding the Chosen One was perhaps misread..

He even contemplated this as the Twin Suns stood high in the sky, he spoke in the guttural language of the Tuskens saying that he would go meditate, one of them protested at first but Jakkor stood his ground as he wondered who the being was still and next to the ruins of the camp sat crosslegged. Closing his eyes within his mask and every time, he could still hear screams and see horrible images that defied the imagination but still he remained calm.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Setzi should have wandered back to The Pirate’s Foe while it was still light outside, collected her find and shuttled off to a different, more remote part of Tatooine, but the Force signature across the way kept her rooted to her spot.

And yet it was calm. Either she’d lost the scent as it were or whoever this being was had become one with the landscape.

And against her better judgment, the former Jedi followed the trail, side stepping around the battle. Tusken Raiders? Setzi knew nothing about them and was wary, yet it had been a very long time since she’d felt actual fear.

With the sand crunching beneath her boots, she used her pike to steady herself as she found him, just on the outskirts of his camp now.

She bent down to touch the ground, just waiting, not wanting to frighten the Raider in his element.

Basic. She’d start in basic, but felt awkward like an unwanted interloper all of a sudden.

“Okay,” she told him telepathically. “You’re here and so am I. I suppose we should get to know each other. We might be the only ones on this entire planet who would be able to connect like this. My name is Setzi.”

And then she waited for a response.

[member="Jakkor Kess"]

 

[Jakkor Kess]

Jakkor sensed the being come closer as he sat in the middle of the sand. The Force after closing himself off from it for so long, felt alien, something that was almost akin to how the Tuskens felt when they are without of their coverings out in the open. At first, the Tusken Sentries that was watching over him and seeing the person come over with them reacting almost as if they would attack her, Jakkor with his eyes still closed and his mind relaxed, yelled out and a loud Tusken grunt that his human vocal chords could create. The sentries stopped immediately heading the chieftain's call.

He could then hear a voice speak to him, the same Force Signature that he had felt earlier was now brighter in the Force, when it was only a flicker on the very edge of death itself. He could feel himself opening up more despite the pain that lingered. He spoke his tone only despite being in his 30's felt as if the 800 years of stasis had aged him at least mentally. "I sense the Force in you... Why did you come? Who are you?" He said as the tone also displayed his irritation and did not show an eager sense of welcome, but more a tone of a man who was broken and had nothing left.

He then opened his eyes standing up... Getting a good look at her, it was a woman a young one at that... He blinked for a moment to realize it was no illusion and so his Jedi Robes mixed in with Tusken garb he gave her a hard stare as if he didn't take too kindly to her.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Whatever dispute happened nearby was not Setzi’s concern. If still a full fledged Jedi, she may have flown in on a self righteous wind to aid the side of “good.”

What am I now, she thought? Am I still a Jedi at all?

She looked down at her ragged, taupe-colored gloves, covering rough hands and dirty fingernails. Nothing but a Tatooine Jawa in human form this evening, a thought which caused a half-smile to blossom on her face. Memories which threatened to pierce through the actual feeling of happiness which so rarely graced her spirit, started to bubble up but she pushed them down.

Not tonight, demons. Tonight I’m getting to know-

The animal-like grunt stopped her in her tracks. But then Setzi realized that she was being admitted to the hut. She was nervously fascinated with what she might find inside.

Still the fact that this road led her to a Tusken Raider surprised her, yet his primitive exterior reminded her of another species with which she had lots of experiences. Togrutas. And what would a tribal Togruta do when faced by a peer? With a swift, obedient motion she removed her shoes and promptly plopped herself down, sitting across from Jakkor cross-legged. Swallowing down some nerves, the former Jedi pulled her cantina from off her harness and held it out to the being.

“I’m here the same reason anyone else is. Survival. But I don’t live here. Just passing through.” She unwound one of the off-white linen scarves and let her hair tumble down in a long, unraveling braid.

“What’s going on out there?” Setzi asked thumbing behind her. “Is it dangerous? Should I turn around?”

If she was specifically avoiding the question about the Force or just making conversation, he would not know.

[member="Jakkor Kess"]

 

[Jakkor Kess]

Jakkor saw the young woman sitting across from him and for a moment became perplexed. Who was this woman and why had she come here to this barren world, she was strong in the Force he knew that much, but still he did not know. In fact, a part of him did not care, with the growing darkness that was rising in the Galaxy he had remembered why he had come here to this place. He had come here to live out his days till the sands claim him once more. But now this girl had come forth which had left him many questions but in the end, he wanted to be left alone.

Inside the Hut was many decorations of the Tusken culture, old bones, bantha skins but there were some parts of the Jedi Religion noticed within the small makeshift home. Such as a Padawan braid, a holoprojector and an old Clone armor piece that showed both the symbol of the Jedi Order and the Galactic Republic before turning into the Empire. Trinkets of the past and reminders of his past as a Jedi Padawan and how his world became upside down.

She at first tried to offer him water to which he declined, and she must still not have known who he was behind the mask. No matter she did not need to see him just yet nor had any interest as she remarked as to what was happening behind her to which Jakkor stubbornly replied. "In the desert, it's always dangerous... These trackless wastes offer no such salvation for those who do not know how to survive... Who are you? Speak girl." He said pulling out one of his Lightsaber hilts looking at her with an icy stare through the lens of his mask.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

As the last slivers of the two moons set, Setzi breathed in the dusty air and closed her eyes. She felt like an interloper among these Tusken men, but at the same time, she felt certain that something had guided her to this location.

The Jedi gazed around at the sand people culture, the bones, the remnants, the literal ephemera which would be blown away by any old dust storm.

“I’ve roamed the desert and hunted on plains very much like this one. You can put away your weapon. I’m no enemy,” she said plaintively. Confident in her defensive skills, if he wanted to attack, so be it. Yet she hoped he felt the same way that she did - that the Force had a hand in bringing them together.

Her brows furrowed apologetically and yes, she did feel bad for disturbing the man. But she had so many questions. “My name is Setzi Lunelle. Are you… human?”

[member="Jakkor Kess"]

 

[Jakkor Kess]

Jakkor at first was skeptical of the woman, but still, when she had asked in a peaceful manner to put the hilt away, Jakkor still kept his eyes on her. The Force may have had a hand in this but he would dare not accept it not yet. He had been through too much and even seen things that had dared to destroy his entire world, either way, he still remained the same... He was cautious and mistrusting for the most part but if this woman didn't mean any harm then he would just have to accept that for right now.

When she asked if he was human, he slowly spoke as he unwrapped his mask, the wrappings peeling one by one as he spoke. "Inside these wrappings, I am one of the desert, a child of the Sands and a child of Tatooine and the Twin Suns itself." He said as he spoke once more revealing his flesh, his face covered in dark markings, his hair seemed a mix of black and gray as if the years spent in stasis had taken a toll physically as his face carried a serious look. He spoke to her once more as he looked at her, his eyes locking with hers.

"But in another life, I was Jakkor Kess. Jedi Knight of the Galactic Republic last of the Jedi Order as well as Hero of the Clone Wars... Yes, I guess you can say I am or was Human once. "

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

For a lofty Jedi Master, there’s still so much you don’t know about the galaxy, Setzi. For example, how do these beings function through all of the ragged and rough-hewn fabric bindings?

But her mental question would immediately be answered as the Tusken began unwrapping his rags, and she stared like the slack-jawed farm girl she still occasionally found herself to be, not quite sure what she expected to see.

His dark eyes were cautious, but his face betrayed a world-weariness that was not unkind. Setzi found herself strangely nervous around him as though he would see right through to the fact that she’d once served in the ranks of the One Sith, slaughtering innocents wantonly.

“How are you…? I mean, it’s miraculous you are still alive."

She did not doubt him. His Force signature was strong and true but it was impossible to tell yet which of the pair was closer to the Light. And furthermore, if it even mattered.

"If you have a story to tell about how you arrived here, I'd love to hear it."

[member="Jakkor Kess"]

 

[Jakkor Kess]

Jakkor continued to give her a hard look, his face was not the young vibrant face of a boy who had awakened in a time, not like his. But that of a broken man who had known nothing but atrocities and war. His face was now rough, stubble all around his cheeks, his eyes bloodshot as if he had trouble sleeping,,, It was as if the Jedi Master was or had been haunted by ghosts that wouldn't leave him be, but still even in the Jaded Tusken's eyes there was wisdom as if he had spent his years meditating on the very will of the Force. He turned his head away not taking to well by her enthusiasm at all.

He walked over to gaze upon several of his possessions. A Padawan braid that belonged to him, his old clone wars era holoprojector, and his Jedi Robes even a few armor pieces from the Clone Wars. He then started to speak, his tone somber and almost bitter but carried a weight that had been worth 800 years. "I was stuck in stasis in an Ancient Sith Casket... In one of Palpatine's storehouses that used to be Jedi Outpost... I was a Jedi Padawan during a time that saw many great changes... My best friend and my Master served alongside our soldiers we were sent through several planets fighting the War... Then it came upside down with Order 66...." He turned his head away. Pausing the memories still leaving a bad taste in his mouth but he continued. "My Master was killed and I left my Best Friend behind... Considering how things were it was the end for me. Until one day an Imperial Inquisitor found me. Unknowingly that being was, in fact, my best friend and I was forced to kill her before her Master arrived. I barely survived against him... Vader was everything they say in the texts of today... I then fled to the Unknown Regions to lose myself. Encountering an old station to realize it was a trap by another Inquisitor... Before I killed him I gave into rage... Becoming something that defied my teachings and so I was cursed by being stuck in a casket tortured by Sith Spirits. This is what I woke up too. The Dark Side once again on the rise. The Jedi gave into ways of War again and a Galaxy turned into a living hell."


[member="Setzi Lunelle"]

 

[Setzi Lunelle]

Setzi had not seen her family in awhile. Not since her sister died and she blamed herself for her sibling’s downfall, her own descent to the darkside of the Force, a case which continued to plague her with questions. But she’d long ago given up the idea that this was just an unsolved mystery.

Chastity was dead and there was nothing she could do to bring her back.

Yet this Tusken reminded her of her father. He was older than she, more weathered, yet she sympathized with the hard-worn creases in his face. Setzi’s face was smoother, yet she felt those dry rivulets inside - how weary life had made her. Or at least that's how she felt. However her enthusiasm must have betrayed this feeling of being older than she looked, and Jakkor shrank from it - from the sliver of hope she may have offered.

It was clear the human was protective of his possessions. She felt the same way about the Pirates Foe. Sometimes the junky, messy ship was all she knew or felt familiar with. “We have much in common, most of all the injustice that clings to people like us. I was also in statis but for a smaller amount of time. Yet it does change you.”

While she wanted to hide her shameful past, the brunette Jedi felt all at once that she needed to come clean with this man who told her such a sad story.

“I was one of them before… a Sith. The kind of darksider that would try to break a strong man like you.”

With a sharp laugh that seemed at once nervous and bold, she said, “Do you Tuskens drink any alcohol?” Setzi could sympathize with this man - far too much. But she felt she needed the help of a social lubricant to really abandon all of her reservations.

[member="Jakkor Kess"]

 

[Jakkor Kess]

Jakkor could sense guilt in the young woman's voice as she spoke. When he had heard of her revelation as a Sith or now formerly as one. Jakkor gave her a look full of iciness and hate for her in one moment the hauntings of the past and his hatred for the Sith still within him, but then his face softened as if he had lost everything and such things did not even matter anymore, but then another thought had occurred to him. Perhaps the Force had a purpose for the two of them, they were both broken individuals who could not find any meaning in their lives. Both seemed as if they had nothing to live for. Jakkor had spent most of his days wishing for death and had often contemplated the path that the Force had placed in front of him, and had even contemplated the very will of the Force.

He had spoken softly gazing at the old Clone Armor for the Galactic Republic, running his hand on the faded Republic symbol, sighing to himself as he spoke to her. "You Setzi have gone through the four stages of the Dark Side then. Some which only a few have made it through and was not a common view of the Order. Temptation, Imperilment, Submission, and Redemption. You have passed through the 4th one but it would not have been easy to do so. Many great Jedi such as Ulic Qel Droma, Jacen Solo, Anakin Skywalker.." He had said the last name as if it was a bitter taste in his mouth remembering how he had fought with him in the Clone Wars only to learn centuries later that the man he had served with ruined his life. "Perhaps the Force had guided us to each other for a reason young one... Perhaps we were meant to cross paths."

When she had mentioned alcohol, half of his mind drifted back to the years he spent on his ship or in cantina's drinking himself to death. The nightmares, the voices. They wouldn't stop and a bottle was the only way to soothe the horror's that had plagued his mind, but a drink with a woman who had dared boldly asked since he hadn't had the company of another Jedi in years much less the opposite sex he made his decision. "Not particularly... But I was known once to be a heavy drinker. I would gladly join you for a drink with a fellow Jedi... Or should I say a fellow, broken soul." He said looking up from his reflections of his tortured past to give her a light smile gazing into her eyes.

[member="Setzi Lunelle"]