Cornered (Hara Kiri)

[Jorshal Vuntana]

Most apprentices strived to be early. A few found it best to suit their personality to be fashionably late. This one, however, was an hour late. He had never really got to know Hara Kiri that well, only when she had first shown up to join the order had they ever talked. He was looking forward to this training session, but it remained in the air as to whether or not she was going to show up.

[Hara Kiri]

"Sorry." She said groggily as she approached him. "I don't like alarm clocks and I'd much rather have the sun wake me. You agree right?" She asked rhetorically. "So yeah, Force training how about that... Zereth showed me a few tricks, so you don't have to treat me like a kid. I'm practically a knight you know."

[Jorshal Vuntana]

"You are not." He said calmly. "And Zereth said you preformed fairly, but nothing to note."

She had no response but to upturn her nose and look around behind him.

"Today, we're going to avoid any work with the Force, which I assume you've been practicing yourself on your own time. Today we're going to work on practical use and learn that some things aren't about power."

He continued, "I hope you got the memo. We're leaving planet now."

[Hara Kiri]

"Leaving?" She said alarmed. "For how long? Where are we going? What memo?"

"On you desk, the datapad by your lamp." He replied casually.

She thought back to the previous night. Had she even slept in her room? She was sneaking about the upper most levels of the palace that night and... the roof. She slept on one of the flat roofs last night. Damn it.

"I need a few minutes. I- I have to get things and- and I just can't leave like this!"

"Too bad." He said as he began leading the way towards the dock.

"No. No. No." She said in quiet defense. "I'll meet you at the dock!" She said as she ran off back to her room to gather certain essentials.

[Jorshal Vuntana]

He had been standing at the ship for another half hour, he was honestly wondering if she was serious about training or even being there. She was late, she didn't read what he had given her, she didn't pay attention. If she failed the training mission, she was out. The Sith Order was a place for those serious about their training.

"Ok, ok." She said as she walked out of the palace doors. "I'm ready now."

"Good." He said sternly and turned towards the ship and boarded. "We haven't much more time to waste."

[Hara Kiri]

The trip was longer than she had expected. But then again, she hadn't expected to do much but train at the palace. She gazed out the window, her mind full of uninterrupted thoughts. Jorshal hadn't so much said a word to her since they left the palace. He was angry with her, she knew that and she felt slightly embarressed. Life at the Order had been a series of embarressing moments for her. She had met Yurza and made a fool of herself there. She showed up hung over at Zereth's training session and now she had slept through Jorshal's and not prepared. She had the feeling she was going to get kicked out, if thats what they did.

Being a Sith was harder than expected.

"Are we there yet?" She said quietly to Jorshal who was across the room.

"An hour at most." He said without raising his eyes to her from the book he held.

She shrugged and resumed staring out the window at the swirls of hyperspace. She was falling into a bad mood, she could tell. Jorshal's silent disappointment and contemt was pouring into her. Hitting her personal darkside was something she had learned to loathe.

Existing was a burden.

[Jorshal Vuntana]

If the Force was a room, it was like someone switched off a light. He continued to stare at his book but he let his mind wander into Hara Kiri's. She appeared to be falling into a depression and an unusual rate. Perhaps she really was mentally ill. He had just thought she was not a socially agreeable person. Her head was a mess, which might conribute to her issues or be a result of; he had yet to determine which though.

He pulled out after only a moments look around and glanced at the girl staring out the window. She seemed externally depressed as well. The way her shoulders hung and her spine slouched.

"So the planet we're going to is Kareef. Its a poor planet with lots of poor people. We'll be living amongst them for our time here, and there's some valuable lessons to be learned here." He said as the ship entered the atmosphere. "So I suggest you pay attention and take your notes..." You don't want to fail out now, would you? He sent telpathically in the form of a feeling.

[Hara Kiri]

A wave of uncertainty overflowed through her, its source unknown but Jorshal sitting there giving out instructions provided a constant reminder. She honestly didn't want any of this, not to be some student and certainly not to serve some psudoreligious cause.

"Yeah, whatever." She mumbled as the ship broke through the atmosphere of Kareef. She continued to stare out the window as Jorshal gathered his things. She personally didn't have much to worry about, she only had the one hastily put together bag.

THe first thing that caught her eye was a tower of smoke rising from what appeared to be a suburb of a city. It was enormous, no single house fire could cause anything like that. She gazed tot he city and instead of something resembling Coronet, a gleaming and awesome city, as expected, she found a dilapidated and crumbling city far past its prime.

As the ship set down at the port her eyes took in the full view of the hopeless city. The uncertainty that eminated from her future experience there began to scare her. She liked her life to be predictable and planned, not neccessarily structured, but something should could be certain she would know how to act around. For her, being so unusual, as some at the order called her, only worked if she was in a usual place.

"I don't like this, Jorshal. I want to go back." She began to protest. "This kind of bull I didn't sign up for."

[Jorshal Vuntana]

He walked ahead while using telekinesis to cause Hara Kiri's feet to shuffle forward. "Though it may not seem like it, but we're entering a war zone. Welcome to Kareef. It has been torn by war for the better part of the century, no city, no village have been left untouched. Our mission here is to act as mercenaries for one of the rebel factions. All the preperations have been made."

Behind them, the ship fired its engines and moved to hovering above the ground. Much to Hara Kiri's displeasure, it turned to the sky and left the atmosphere. "The ship is ordered to return when I call for it. Until then, we will complete our mission." Then he taunted, "Feel free to run away, I won't persue you."

[Hara Kiri]

She almost wanted to take him up on that offer, but in defiance she did not. He dragged her there and she didn't want to go for a plethora of reasons. Now he was going to find out every one of those reasons. "No way, you're stuck with me now."

[Jorshal Vuntana]

"As long as it's clear that it's your choice." He said as he walked into a short and wide building. The place was called the Jaam Aeicah Een, a smuggler's paradise and mercenary's nest. Everyone that mattered who came to Kareef had business to do at the Jaam Aeicah, the planet was at Civil War and there was money to be made.

"Merc?' A man said as Jorshal passed him.

"Maybe. Who's asking?" Jorshal replied as he slowed his walking pace.

"A friend called 50 thou credits." He smiled. "Assuming you've got the right credentials."

Jorshal swept back his cloak for a brief moment exposing his lightsaber hilt. "Is that enough?"

"Jedi?" He said and paused for a moment carefully evaluating the man before him, then the woman behind him. "Dark Jedi." He corrected more confidently.

"Sith." Jorshal affirmed. "Not merely Dark Jedi."

"I-" Hara Kiri started, but Jorshal cut her off.

You don't speak until I tell you too. He ordered though the Force.

"You'll get the job done then, I'm confident of that. You're more than capable with those magic-"

"Don't insult us. You underestimate the power of the Force." Jorshal said forcefully.

"The question I have is: What do your kind have in it for yourselves? Can't be money."

"It's not your concern." Jorshal said, hoping he'd get the hint.

"Oh, I think it is." The seller said with surprising force of his own. "In case you didn't know, merc work isn't insurable and I need some insurance that you're not playing me here. Your kind only serve yourselves, no disrespect intended, but you're not dependent on a bounty hunter's reputation."

"Fine. We're not bounty hunters, therefore bounty hunter negotiations don't apply. Pay us after the job is done."

The seller smiled. "Deal. Here's the orders." He passed a rolled up sheet of paper to Jorshal. "I need it to be done by this weekend, we'll meet here on the 7th at 1800."

"We'll be here." Jorshal said as he turned and walked out with Hara Kiri behind him.

"Go ahead, ask." He said as they emerged onto the street.

[Hara Kiri]

"That went too easy. Are you setting me up? Do you know that guy or something?" She asked as her eyes wandered towards a corner nerf sausage vendor.

"I thought you wanted to hone your telepathy skills?" He asked rhetorically. "I found the man with the highest price int he cantina and didn't bother with anyone else. Not to mention a little Force persuasion to seal the deal."

Hara Kiri grabbed the rolled up sheet of paper as Jorshal handed it to her. She read it slowly and when she was sure she'd remember what it said when not looking at it she handed it back. Sareena Pormeetarsan is marked for death, huh?"

"Apparently."

"I wonder who she is." Hara Kiri wondered out loud as her mind filled with all sorts of exotic positions and fantastic locations.

"Quit wasting your time with that childish nonsense!" Jorshal sharply said. "I can feel it through the Force. Do you want to do this or not?"

She looked down at the dirt road as she still followed Jorshal. "I was just thinking. Calm down, jeez."

We're out to kill someone! Don't fantasize about them, don't daydream about who they are." Jorshal said through the Force. "You need to take a professional attitude.." Jorshal thought about the job ahead, maybe she wouldn't understand until she was faced with why she shouldn't think about it.

Hara Kiri rolled her eyes. "Sorry. I'll take your 'professional attitude', you don't need to scream in my head about it."

[Jorshal Vuntana]

She daydreams way too much. Her imagination is excessively active. While on one hand, this could be a great attribute for a Sith with an interest in telepathy, on the other it was a roadblock in the way of honing and training those skills. "So what's our first step, Hara Kiri?"

"I dunno," She shrugged. "You're the boss."

She wasn't into it. She didn't want the mission. If he was going to train her effectively, he needed to get her to care a little about training. "Not anymore. I'll advise you, but you have to make the decisions. The bounty is yours if we can prevail in the mission at your direction. Fifty-thousand credits."

[Hara Kiri]

Oh jeez, the things she could buy with 50 thou! Her mind immediately fell into dreams of the lap of luxury, the crazy nights in Coronet, the lavish excusrions to the casinos! "Okay, advisor where do we start?"

"It's not that easy. Where do you think we should start?" He replied.

"Well we don't even know who Sareena person is. How do I go about figuring this out? Holonet directory?" She said, becoming more skeptical of the mission with each passing moment. 'No, I could ask people on the street. Hey, do you know Sareena Potmeatdom (or whatever that name is)."

Jorshal just glared at her.

"Better yet, I'll use my Force powers to ask them all at once and save time. Wait! Would that actually work?" She asked wondering if perhaps she had simply walked into a solution.

[Jorshal Vuntana]

"It would, if you thought you could pull it off." He said casually.

She looked at him with the enthusiasm of a deflated balloon. He wasn't going to do it for her, if she kept this up he was going to permanently dismiss her and collect the bounty himself. He said, "Go on already."

She closed her eyes tightly and tried to access the Force, Jorshal watched on with skepticism. She had accessed the Force many times before, she had been using it every lesson she took with Zereth. But it was always in efforts to make her own body do something it wasn't capable of. The mind was an entirely new arena for her to dance with the Force.

"Come on." She whispered.

[Hara Kiri]

It was like an explosion of light and warmth that exploded through her body. She opened her eyes and and the world presented itself in colors and shapes she could only describe as similar to ultraviolet. The colors portrayed as the primary colors of life, a sight she was unfamiliar with.

"This is amazing." She said as she looked down and realized she could see an overhead view of the entire crowd. She looked up and saw a worm's eye view.

"How do you feel." Jorshal said as he approached her, unaffected by the transformation of sights.

"Fine, why?" She responded while looking around the new world.

"You collapsed outside, right now your body is sitting in a cafe chair. I think I'm sipping a vine coffee."

She was confused. "What?"

"You should learn to do this while still remaining conscious in the physical world." As he said this his form she was used to after months at the Sith Order transformed into a bright red haze similar to to everyone else, but different red color.

"You can tell the Force sensitivity of a person by the density of their color, the hue of the color is determined by the state of their being within the Force. Blue indicates someone who is slave tot he Force, red indicates one who is master of the Force. This applies to everyone, though not everyone is Force sensitive to the extent we are, but in tune with the Force anyway."

"Wow." She said as she continued to look around, now gaging the color and intensity of each speck. "Is this how you or Zereth sees it?"

"Not really." He said. "We tend to view it in the subconscious, taking the information without having to use our physical senses to see it. You see, rather than experience this world with our five senses we tune into the world with a new sixth sense of sorts.

"Oh." She said. "I'll work on that sometime."

"How do I find this girl?"

Jorshal replied, "You investigate each person."

"That's no easier than asking each person in the physical world."

"It is for me." He said. "Figure it out."

---

Jorshal glanced the way of an attractive woman and again brought the vine-coffee to his lips. Hara Kiri had been napping for the better part of an hour, hopefully she was making some progress.

Her eyes flickered as she sat up from the slouched position she had occupied the whole time. With a bit of an unpleasant moan she rubbed her side and stared at Jorshal who was occupying his time by watching the crowd.

"Hey!" She said forcefully. "I didn't find a thing."

"How many people did you search?" He replied.

"I don't know. About this side of the city."

He nodded and set down the half empty cup. "Didn't take as long as you thought, did it?"

"No."

"I'll use my power to expand your searching area." He said and took another sip. "Try to stay conscious, and try to be quick. Meanwhile, I think I will have some lunch."

"I want some lunch too."

"Work hard and I might throw you a scrap. Get going."

She passed out again, this time managing to prop her head up with a hand. He reached out with the Force and expanded Hara Kiri's sensefield. This was interesting, he thought to himself as he flagged a server over to take his lunchtime order. While the girl was far away from the city, or at least outside his grasp, the same people she worked with were approaching the town in a group of landspeeders. He searched their intentions, their minds were wide open. They were coming to disrupt order in the enemies occupied city. Perhaps they were coming for recruits? It seemed they were open to the possibility.

Hara Kiri gasped as she snapped awake again. "Guess what!"

"Hmm?"

"I didn't find the girl, but some of the same people she works with are coming right here!"

"You're kidding."

She furrowed her brow. "No. They're really coming."

"And their intentions?"

"Oh." She deflated from her victory.

"Find out."

This time Hara Kiri managed to stay 'awake' as she searched the minds of the approaching rebels. Jorshal was way ahead of her, but it was important she accomplish this menial task herself. Children... How had the Sith who raised him managed to teach him the ways of the Force? He supposed they didn't really. They opened the doors for him, but it was his own will and drive that took him though to the power of the darkside.

"They're looking to destroy government supplies to the city, rob the guards outpost for weapons. And they might be looking for recruits." She said monotonously. She rested her head on the other hand. "I have a headache now. Is that a nerfsteak sandwich?"

"I planted the idea to look for recruits in their heads." He said and handed her half of the sandwich. "Which makes our next step?"

"To get recruited?"

"Correct."

"How do we do that?" She said with a mouthful of food.

"I don't know, you tell me."

"If that guy int he bar hired us as mercenaries, won't they?"

"Maybe." He said after swallowing. "Do you have your application ready?"

"Do we need one?"

"No." He shook his head. "We can't just walk up and say we'll help out."

"Oh." She said and took another bite. "We could help out anyway and tell them we are mercs."

"We could."

"I bet if we do real good, they'll even ask us to help more often." She said and smiled, as a piece of vegetable fell from her mouth. "We could even convince them with the Force."

"Right you are." He said and wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I expect we have about fifteen minutes until they arrive. Figure out their first stop and we'll get going."