Stare of Pure Evil (Open)

[Artimus Devaneaux]

A hooded and cloaked figure sat alone in the Bar and Grill, his insanity barely contained. He was just waiting. Waiting for his son, and for whoever was teaching him the deluded ideals of the Jedi.

Being alone on the fringe of space for thirty years gave Artimus Devaneaux what some would consider a unique perspective - and others would consider a disease in his mind. He was not Jedi anymore, nor was he considered Sith. He was one of the things the Jedi dreaded: a complete, raving lunatic who was undisciplined with the Force, and using the dark side, no less. With the revelations made about the Devaneaux family ancestry, it forced some - including Kieran himself, most likely, and his pacifistic master - to wonder how Kieran survived his childhood, sired by this demented, drooling freak. Even their calm and ideals of peace could not hide a Jedi's unrestrained disgust upon feeling the evil aura that exuded from this man. Many of the Jedi patrons kept their distance from him - and so did almost everyone else, for that matter.

His single, cold eye stared out from under the hood, searching, seeking...

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

So absorbed by his search for his son, Artimus had failed to notice the approach a man in white. A calm half-smile on his face, he bowed his head in greeting. “I sense you are troubled, searching for something… perhaps I might be of some assistance. I am Jubei, Knight of the Order.”

[Kieran Devaneaux]

Kieran Devaneaux stood in the shadows, watching Jubei and Artimus interact. Kieran silently prayed his father did not harm the Knight - despite Jubei's greater martial experience, Artimus had his own skills. Kieran knew Jubei would know he was there. He was not sure about Artimus, but apparently not - he didn't see him. Waiting in silence, Kieran watched the events unfold....

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus fixed Jubei in his cold stare, the solid black of his remaining eye looking the white-clothed Knight over. "So, you are what my son aspires to be," he said, surprisingly calm. "And I'm sure you know who he is, Knight of the Jedi Order....for if you can't tell, you're even blinder than I am....and blinder than he is."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

“We are none of us blind with the Force by our side,” Jubei said, without any hint of emotion or implication. “There is conflict between you and your son... perhaps because he has opened to his eyes to something which you would shy from?”

[Artimus Devaneaux]

"Who are you to make such presumptions, Jedi?" Artimus snapped, his black-eyed stare meeting Jubei's. "He is young, blind and stupid. He turned from true power for this protector of the peace nonsense. Sure, he's a military officer, but he's also a bloody pacifist, too weak to carry on the family birthright."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

Clearly unaffected by the sniping tone in which the black-eyed man spoke, Jubei questioned, “What is this true power you speak of?”

[Artimus Devaneaux]

"What do you think, fool? You can obviously tell I am no Jedi. Though.....I did used to be one when most of the people you call Padawans and Knights were milk-slopping children." Artimus glared in contempt at Jubei, then around the room. "Of course, I grew up...you all did not."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

The anger coming from the old man was virtually tangible. Jubei sighed. “Wisdom does not always come with age.”

[Artimus Devaneaux]

"Youth does not make you invincible," Artimus retorted. "Only people with power like me can be considered as such."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

“Invincibility is a nonsensical concept. Who is to say who is invincible and who is not? Those who would waste their life chasing arrogant notions of grandeur, besting every opponent they faced… their so-called invincibility is merely a construct of the mind.” With his next question, Jubei appeared genuinely interested in what the man had to say, and spoke without insult or any kind of implication. “What is to be gained from being the best – in particular the best at causing destruction?”

[Artimus Devaneaux]

"Destruction serves many purposes; rule through force, rather than just the fear of it." Artimus paused for a moment, then spoke again. "I did not become the supreme warlord of my homeworld by being in second place." He did not mention that his homeworld had been bombarded seven years earlier, and that he had been overthrown by his own son. Kieran probably told someone - and it was in the Jedi biographical archives by now. "I was one the greatest prospect for Jedi training, but the Masters back then were weak pacifistic fools. I did not believe the Force was merely there and that we only use it when there is no other recourse; I believe it's there to be USED, to make you a great warrior....not to make you some kind of healer for people who don't deserve it."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

“History has shown us no good can come of using the Force selfishly. It corrupts and devours from within. Though you may use it for your own ends, in doing so it will use you – until there is nothing left of you to use, just a husk of humanity, drained to the point of death.” There was great severity to Jubei’s words. Possessing family of his own under the glamour of the Dark Side, he knew all too well of the seduction that such power could work on fragile minds. “It is the path of the weak man.”

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus laughed. "Spoken like a true Jedi. You surprise me."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

The monk quirked a brow. “It surprises you that I, as a Jedi, would have the ideology of a Jedi?”

[Kieran Devaneaux]

Careful, Jubei, Kieran recommended to the Knight. His mind is fragmented and unstable. He is quite mad....I would watch my step.

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus seemed oblivious to his son's silent communication with Jubei. "No, it surprises me that you speak your ideology so calmly to someone who has done nothing but insult or provoke you for the last several minutes." The Sith apprentice chuckled.

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

Jubei acknowledged Kieran’s words without looking at the Padawan.

“Did you think I would be baited into anger?”

[Artimus Devaneaux]

"Everyone else seems to." Artimus chuckled. "Jedi or no Jedi, they all get annoyed."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

The monk shook his head. “True Jedi would not be spurred as such.”

[Artimus Devaneaux]

"Perhaps," the warlord conceded. "And how many people do you consider as such, Knight of the Jedi Order?"

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

Jubei thought on this for a moment before replying. “Any Jedi with the rank of Knight and above should uphold the ethics of a true Jedi. That is not to say, however, that Padawan’s cannot also be true Jedi… simply that those given the title of Knight have been given it for a reason, the reason being that they have shown themselves to be true Jedi.”

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus nodded, seemingly satisfied with Jubei's answer. "And how would you consider my son? If you know anything of him at all."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

“I do not know him well enough to pass judgment,” Jubei replied, shaking his head. “Though I have heard no ill words spoken of him.”

[Artimus Devaneaux]

Artimus nodded. "You seem wiser than the outside world perceives you, Jedi. It seems my son is in good hands with you people....I will have to watch my back." The Sith apprentice chuckled as he stood. "Though if things go well, you may have to watch yours."

With that, he lifted his hood and strode quietly out of Yog's, still not noticing his son there....

[Kieran Devaneaux]

After Artimus had left, Kieran stepped from the shadows. Nodding in respect to Jubei, he said, "Thankfully, that was not as violent as I feared. He seems calmer now....but in battle, he will be quite vicious."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

Jubei returned the nod of respect, then asking, “Do you fear him?”

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"I would be stupid not to," Kieran admitted. "A twisted genius is a dangerous man indeed. And with the dark side of the Force....but we are both low-level apprentices now. When we are higher in our training, it may not be as equal a battle as it is now. I hold the advantage because I am the better fighter, but he knows, and I know, that if there is to be a war between us, it will be won not by martial skill, but by our intelligence. And with a wild-card like the Empire in the middle of it..."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

The monk’s brow furrowed. “If you fear him, then your conlifct with him is already lost.”

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"I do not fear him, per se," Kieran corrected himself. "I fear his mind. His diseased, polluted, corroded mind, which killed billions in the last decade and is trying to murder ME! His own son! And I'm also being chased by an aged, even more insane version of myself. Even the greatest warrior or the bravest leader would fear that, Jubei - fear the works of the insane. As I said, I would be stupid not to." Kieran's single eye burned in frustration in his inability to do anything about the madmen chasing him. He had thought this would be a way to escape the hunters - but not even on Coruscant was he safe from Artimus' grasp, it seemed. He sat down heavily, feeling several decades older all of a sudden. "Is there no way to end this madness?"

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

Jubei shook his head. “A Jedi knows no fear. Fear is the path to the Dark Side. Is there no way to overcome the grievances you have with your father?”

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"Short of one of us either getting killed or killing the other? Haven't a clue. Though I do know this: In whatever battle lies around the bend, it is most likely one, or both, of us will not live to see the end of it. I would prefer both if I don't live through it....because if he survives, he'll try and take on the entire Order himself. And he probably could."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

The Knight shook his head. Kieran’s pessimistic outlook was troubling. “I spoke with this man, and while I could sense darkness in him, the Force was not as strong with your father as you believe it to be.”

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"His master is the Sith's master mentalist; he's being trained with all the vile powers of the dark side. He is not formidable yet.....but give it a while, he will be."

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

“You have much faith invested in the Dark Side,” Jubei observed. “How do you hope to triumph over it if you have already consigned yourself to defeat?”

[Kieran Devaneaux]

"At least I give thought to the threat," Kieran retorted. "Previous generations did not. The Jedi have already been wiped out to near extinction once. That must not happen again." He cursed himself for having such thoughts. "You will have to forgive me, I am somewhat of a pessimist. Some say I'm a lunatic. Comes with the job, I suspect." He chuckled grimly.

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

“Do not confuse fear with perception,” Jubei chided. “The Council acknowledges the threat the Dark Side poses. We are not so arrogant to believe that we are beyond its reaches, or that it is of no danger to us… but we must not allow ourselves to be overcome by pessimism, as you put it. Have you spoken to your Master about these feelings?”