“Well,” I began, then paused. What did I know about any of that?

“Just what I read in some books and picked up around bars, I guess. I know that name, Heth-ror or whatever, he was someone really bad from long ago, right? Something to do with that myth of the Reborn, I think. That can't be who you mean, is it?”

I shrugged and went on.

“As for your people, I guess I don't know much at all. I think you had your homeworld blown up a long time ago, and then settled on... um, lessee... Datnooine? No, Belderone? Maybe. As for those other name, nope. Not a clue.”

I was curious, though, I had to admit. I stepped over to the chair next to her and sat down on the edge, looking right into her eyes.

“How 'bout you tell me?”

--------------------

She paused then, her black eyes growing somewhat vague. "The Reborn are anything but a myth. My grandfather was the first to create and lead Reborn...

...and the atrocities he committed were forced on him."

By an annoyingly humanocentric Empire, Cardissa thought blackly. Something which perhaps has not changed all that much.

Cardissa stood suddenly then, crossing the room and coming to a corner where she paused, looking down at the floor as if something very interesting was below her feet. Then she turned smoothly. "Isn't it amazing that, even after all this time, humans still seem to know so little of cultures alien to their own? We are not always what you think..."

She trailed, something deeply within yet unreadable in her eyes growling a final addendum. Rather we were forced to become what we are to survive in the universe...

[ 01-02-2010 09:54 AM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cardissa Mitra ]

--------------------

I stood then, and walked a little closer to her.

“Everyone's pretty much the same to me. See, beneath all these good looks I'm a businessman, and credits spend same way no matter who you got 'em from. Well, sure, sometimes I get a little creeped out by tentacles and such, but it's what in the mind and heart that matter to me.”

A little closer...

“And I don't care that you're not human, you're probably better off for it. And you're a hell of a lot better lookin' than most humans I know.”

Crap, did I say that out loud? Ah well.

"So tell me more about yerself. Where'd you grow up?"

[ 01-07-2010 10:21 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Rico Riven ]

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At least, we have no homeworld at the moment...

"But my father made certain I had the best of education regardless of our location."

She paused then, her eyes focusing more intently on Rico, and on his words. She slitted her eyes slightly. "The galaxy is controlled by mostly by humans, you know. You honestly think that you wouldn't be at least somewhat uncomfortable if things were different?"

[ 01-17-2010 03:22 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cardissa Mitra ]

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I stopped, I really couldn't believe I just said that.

"Well, wow, there ya go. Never thought I'd say anything good about 'em. Don't much care for the 'do as I say' attitude we get from 'em, though. I'd like to actually be asked to do something for a change, instead of told."

--------------------

Cardissa smiled an eerie sort of smile, then it vanished. "Not that I would know anything about that, my homeworld was just obliterated by the Vong. While the Empire may have played a part in defeating them, we barely got out of the struggle at all...

...and it took far more than a mere government to defeat them."

And the Jedi were involved, Cardissa thought darkly. Although they were even nearly defeated by the Vong.

--------------------

She waited. Until at length she felt he was simply going to stand there and say absolutely nothing.

How unsurprising. How typical.

"But what does it matter?" she asked, breaking the growing awkward silence. "The Empire has everything under iron-fisted control. No one would be so foolish as to try to come against them."

--------------------

Hmm, come to think of it, I owed that little fuzzball.

“Remind me to kick his little blue butt for puttin’ me through all this, by the way. Assuming he lives through the stuff they got him doin’, that is.”

I stepped forward, closer to Cardissa.

“Now, again, I don’t have any real problems with the Empire, except that they got me here thinkin’ I’m some kind of spy or something, and they don’t trust the fact that I’m just trying to make a living doing what I do best. But I promised to help you, and I’m keeping that promise, so whenever they come to tell us it’s time to go you can count on me to keep you safe. For now, though, you gotta put away these problems with the Empire and trust in fate that you’ll get what you want.”

--------------------

"I need no protector," she replied tersely, falling silent. For a long moment she remained as she was, but suddenly she turned, tossing her two-toned golden and cinammon hair indignantly. "And I trust nothing to fate." Her eyes glazed a moment, then cleared. "I don't believe in it."

Crossing her arms, she then merely regarded Rico quietly, wondering if the Empire was going to ever tell them that they were going to go anywhere.

[ 02-05-2011 11:30 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Cardissa Mitra ]

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Upon hearing Thoran's call, I returned to the hatch, passing by the seated and very stoic looking Lieutenant Jetiis'ad in the process. She remained still as a stone, her eyes staring ahead, apparently oblivious to all that was happening around her.
I wasn't so foolish as to actually believe that, however; now forcing away the slight quirk that wanted to come to my lips I stopped in the yet open hatch. One hand on the frame, I cast a look down upon the enigmatic Sith.

A frown now tugged at my brows and my lips. This would have been a most opportune time to continue where we'd left off. I was yet extremely interested in his hints about these purported Gameplayers, how he was so assured of his facts involving the Darker Realms and a possible connection to the aforementioned Gameplayers...

Not to mention white spiders. He'd mentioned something earlier about white spiders. Now under normal circumstances a spider of any color was nothing but an arachnid to either avoid or squish under one's boot. But for some reason his mention of the ones on Tatooine had sent ripples of unease coursing up and down my back.

I would dearly have loved to discuss this further, and almost called down for him to please accompany us. However, while at first it struck me with equal unease the fact that he wished to travel with the Jedi, perhaps it was his intention to present him with that which he had provided me. Perhaps he saw this as an opportune time to pull the Jedi away from their self-proclaimed positions as being "above the law," and into the embrace of a new one. One in which personal issues were set aside, and everyone joined forces together against a much more dangerous, if unknown, common foe.

Even though I still felt this to be an impossibility, an event of the most extreme Pollyanna-ish idealism ever to try to seek fruition.

But one never knew.

"Very well, Thoran," I agreed, giving him a nod of my head.

"Travel with Petrolu; I will see you on Coruscant."

With that I returned to my position next to the pilot, and continued my earlier perusal of his departure routines. In no time at all, it seemed, a metallic "thunk" alerted me to the fact that the hatch had closed, and an ensuing if somewhat boisterous hisss informed me we were fully pressurized.

After a few seconds, I knew we were off-planet, and on our way.

--------------------

"Tatooine Base to courier. Two individuals in your party remain on planet, stating they require a larger ship to depart. They are being detained until we receive your orders. Tatooine Base, out."

--------------------

I felt down to my very soul that this was one of those defining moments, recognized it as such in every neuron that fired within my brain. For although innocent it may appear on the surface, the ramifications it held hidden away had the potential to alter the very future of our existence.

The only larger ships we have on base have lightspeed capability, and are heavily armed. Allowing them freedom to one would look upon by Actar with the greatest of dispproval, at the very least. But to ignore this, to confine the men until a later date when perhaps another courier could recall them to Coruscant... that would more than likely be looked upon with equal disapproval by the Jedi himself, and by Thoran. Now is not the time to estrange what jedi yet remain to us, and as for Thoran...

The man needs to make an appearance on Coruscant. The other generals need to see him, to speak with him. As does Actar himself...

I drew in a deep breath, then sent a return to Tatooine Base:

"Provide them with what they need, and send them on their way. I shall look for their arrival on Coruscant.

"Tarnus, out."

Letting a small sigh escape me, I settled back into my seat. I could feel the heat of Lt. Jetiis'ad's eyes blasting against me; I knew she disapproved of my action as well.

Hell knows part of me did too. But dammit, there comes a time when trust must be gained, and in gaining that one must first give it.

I closed my eyes, and spoke aloud, softening the tone of my voice to make them more of a suggestion rather than command.

"Speak what is on your mind, Lieutenant."

I fell into silence then, listening to the sounds of the courier as it sped along the spacelanes, waiting to see if she would reply.

((OOC: Tarnus's returning order goes back to Round and Round and Round She Goes, in the "CSWU" forums, thank you.))

[ 03-29-2011 12:09 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Sorben Tarnus ]

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Jedi though he was, Shawn was also more human than most probably realized. And this was again one of those moments where his "humanness" couldn't help but announce itself. For while he had most certainly made the request hoping for a positive answer, Shawn hadn't quite expected it to be responded to quite so positively or perhaps even as quickly as it had been.

And he couldn't help but noting to himself that the ship they were being provided, while an older model than some, would most certainly have passed the test his sister would have given it. But then, Shawn wasted litle time on such musings, feeling that this was not the time or the place. So he turned to the lead guard with a brief nod. "Thank you, sir," he said simply, turning as the hatch opened and heading for the cabin of the ship, prepping her for take-off and following procedures for departure in a standard manner even as Thoran joined him. Reaching out to the communit of the ship then, Shawn transmitted notification that he was ready for take-off, accessed his departure vector, and then simply took to the skies, an escort no doubt following closely on his heels if not already ahead of him.

In a few more standard minutes, though he was not quite the pilot his sister was, Shawn had successfully pulled up and programmed in coordinates for Coruscant and taken the Spice Eater smoothly into hyperspace.

Only then did he finally turn to Thoran, again quirking a brow in question.

"Well?"

[ 03-29-2011 02:07 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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Is he actually trying to understand me or just trying to find the best way to use me.

“My grandfather was supposed to be dead,” answered Kani. “The Jedi found him and killed him because the threat he posed to their rebellion. But now he is alive, what conclusion am I suppose to draw?”

“Well, what?” he said. “Oh, how are you, Thoran? Oh, I’m fine, how about yourself.”

Thoran shook his head a little and let a slight grin escape.

“Not exactly what I was expecting, but I guess it’s better than nothing. Needless to say, I really didn’t expect to see you here. But the odd thing is that things do tend to work themselves out if you let them, so meeting you on Tattooine was most likely a blessing. On the other hand, you’re probably wondering what the heck I’m doing here, right?”

He paused a moment and then cut in before Shawn could answer.

“But enough about me, what’s going on with Shayla? You said she has disappeared.”

--------------------

"Yes, she has, and I'm not sure what sort of mental state she is in." He paused, shaking his head, his eyes turning a bit reflective. "Erik and Shayla's baby--who had been born premature and was being kept in an incubator on Khar Delba--passed away. In the midst of dealing with all of that Shayla just..."

Shawn trailed a moment. "...snapped. She blasted off Khar Delba on her own and from there no one knows where she went."

Shawn shook his head. "As if that isn't enough, Erik blasted off on his own to bury his son, blaming the Sith for his death."

Shawn shrugged. "It might sound a bit 'cliche but I have a bad feeling about all of it."

Quieting for a moment then, Shawn's eyes defocused a bit, then snapped alert as he looked back at Thoran. "And speaking of how have you been...

...I think the question is where have you been? Last I saw you we were on Degobah."

[ 03-31-2011 11:26 PM: Message edited 1 time, lastly by Shawn Petrolu ]

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“I’ve been around,” he said. “One thing led to another and I found myself in an audience with Sorben Tarnus. He’s really not such a bad guy once you talk with him, don’t know what all the fuss has been about.”

--------------------

He paused, the corners of his mouth quirking up into a bit of a smile. "I thought you wanted to to 'catch up' on something? After all, you and Tarnus were having quite the discussion until I came in."

Shawn paused, arching an eyebrow again. "And Tarnus has good intentions. With all that is potentially incoming and already going arwy in this galaxy, we need to worry a bit less about our differences and start coming together before something pops up out of the blue and blows up in our collective faces."

--------------------

"I would think that someone has not been entirely truthful to you, and for quite some time," I replied, then settling comfortably into my seat for the journey ahead of us.

--------------------

Good, solid Imperial training, that. The words flowed into my head, a comforting line of normalcy to idly toy with even while I thought of how to address something which I suddenly knew could have potentially dire ramifications on down the line. I never came to question those few times when my gut rose up to inform me of this type of thing; I only rested assured in that if I paid heed, life would continue on its merry way, with me playing right along in it.

It's part of what kept me alive as a Hunter. It was part of what made me have that instant connection with Galen that I did. That spark, that innate, subconscious recognition that we are two alike, ye and I...

I shook myself a little, drew my attention back to the young lieutenant who appeared coiled so tightly it seemed she would explode if I simply said, "boo."

Watch your step, Tarnus.

I drew in a breath, leaned ever so slightly toward her. Let my blue eyes capture her form, letting her know I was sincere by the body language.

"I don't know who lied to you, Kani," I said softly, speaking her name for the first time. "But whoever started this lie did not send it on down through any channels that pertained to me."

More than likely this began before I was even wrapped up as tightly as I now am with the Impys.

I jumped a bit in response to how I suddenly viewed my career. The tiniest of schisms seemed to have cracked open, the tiniest of separations...

Who are you Tarnus, and what do you really want?

I drew in another breath, settled back into my seat and shoved those nagging subliminal thoughts as far away as I could.

For the moment.

"As for how you respond when you discover who started this charade," I went on, "Well... at the least may I remind you that while you wear that uniform you are acting as an Imperial soldier, and in the grace of the Empire, for the Empire. What you do when divested of it... that is your own choice, and will bear its own set of consequences.

"But may I suggest you try to think ahead, and this time look before you leap."

--------------------

“I think I’m the one you least have to worry about,” replied Kani. “My Grandfather is the one they should fear.”

From her mother’s descriptions and stories Tarnus seemed to resemble her Grandfather in many ways. The attitude, sense of right, the presence they commanded.

Maybe that is what keeps throwing me off, the General acts so Mando’a without knowing it.

Images coming from my youth and my naivete, images of a struggling otter-like creature held by the scruff of the neck, the bustle and noise of the Coronet Treasure Ship yards framing his squirming body, masking the arrival of another, taller one like it, one who could fight like an enraged rancor...

A shadow falling, a sudden screech. The thrashing creature yanked from my hand, a deep voice speaking to the tall being. A clink of coin, the shadow looming over me, a figure there, hands on hips, staring at me intently through a T-shaped visor which had over time become more than dear to me...

I shifted my weight, every ounce of willpower in my possession put to the task of maintaining an outwardly calm demeanor.

But inside, ahh inside...

My innards were quivering as much as they had the fateful day my benefactor was killed by that feral bantha on Talasea. Not merely at the ferocity of his death, no. But by the fact that up until that very moment I hadn't so much as seen my Teacher's face.

I shifted again, drew in a deep breath, considering whether or not this needed to be any business of the lieutenant. In all actuality, I couldn't see how it could be anybody's business, other than my own, and business I wished to keep stuffed away in the recesses of my memory. But Lt. Jetiis'ad had dragged the sandcat from the proverbial bag; time to reflect a bit before shoving it back into it.

"Someone who wore such armor was a very important part of my life," I finally said. "And when he was finished with it, that armor became more than a part of me."

I paused again, waffling between military and personal protocols. Then it struck me that my hot lieutenant had suddenly cooled, and in fact appeared to be trying to be civil. Perhaps this was an outreach on her part, so to speak.

I considered my earlier gut feeling about this fem, the creeping notion that somehow she would become more than a mere officer in the Empire. That she might turn out to be a connection, a nexus if you will, between her people and those who would really count in the days of turmoil I was certain were coming.

I shot her a serious look.

"He taught me most everything that I know," I finally finished.

--------------------

Kani wanted to pry further to know more about his past and this man with Mandalorian Armor but she could tell that for now that was all he was willing to share.

“I understand,” replied Kani. “To us Mando’ad the Armor we wear is who we truly are. Our body is just a shell but the armor represents the spirit of the Mando’ad and to us the helmet we wear are our own faces. The armor its self is often times passed down as one of us dies. My own armor is made from that of my Aunt and Grandmothers. I just wish I knew what happened to my Mothers armor.”

The talk of her mother brought to her mind of her last memories of her. How she refused to let Kani go with her on the rescue mission and Kani helping her mother with her equipment check then at the last moment leaving Kani with one of her two lightsabers promising to return for it.

She never came back.

“Funny you should mention that,” he said. “That’s pretty much what I was discussing with Sorben Tarnus.”

Shawn’s raised eyebrow gave Thoran the cue to continue.

“I went through a weird little adventure since I saw you last. I ended up getting myself thrown into the dungeons on K’eel Doba by our ever loving Dark Lady Gray – or what is it her less loving daughter? Tell you the truth, I’m not too sure I remember which one it was now. Doesn’t matter though, because I discovered I was neighbors with said Tarnus. I had some things to talk about in private, so I busted us out via the Darker Realms and we ended up here – by way of Tattooine.”

Thoran paused, his face now somewhat puzzled.

“Tell me,” he said, “before I get too much into it, what’s your reaction if I mention white spiders?”

--------------------