Leading the Grey: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Sailor II

[Dasquian Belargic]

The door to the bar and grill opened slowly, sending out waves of noise and brilliant scents to the ears and noses of two gentlemen. They had arrived after a walk from the LQ (http://pub56.ezboard.com/fgjofrm6.showMessage?topicID=188.topic), and were presently both looking very collected. The younger, Dasquian, walked with the older, Kakita, in tow.

He paced slowly forward, pausing after reaching just out of the way of the doorway.

"This is Master Yoghurts,"

The Padawan gestured one hand around the room, smiling softly.

"I imagine that you will be coming he quite a lot in the future."

He turned and looked to Kakita, nodding.

"What say we get a little bite to eat and a drink, then perhaps we can discuss your future here amongst us a little further, hmm?"

[Master Kakita Yoshi]

Kakita gazed around the room, then realising he must look like an awestruck farmboy he turned to his nodding padawan guide.

"Yes, the last time I ate it didnt make a dent on the hunger and what they served me as wine on whatever godforsaken we just escaped from was only fit for cleaning engines."

They moved over to a booth, negoteating the numerous exotic clientel. The seats were unexpecadly comfortable.

"I wonder why I expected uncomfortable seats?" Kakita mused aloud.

"And I get a very familliar feeling about this whole place," he added,
"Most disconcerting." He broke off, "Anyhow, Ill let you get the drinks in".

The scoul that escaped Dasquians mask of detachment was truly rewarding, and the older man grinned from ear to ear.

[Dasquian Belargic]

The feign look of anger that Dasquian gave quickly turned into a smile, showing that the boy was simply playing along with the old mans sense of humour. He called over a droid and ordered a meal of steak and potatoes with a side plate of salad to eat, as well as a decanter of wine for Kakita and a jug of water for himself.

"Shouldn't take long for the food and drink to arrive," he said rubbing his hands together. It had been a long time since he had tasted the famous steak of the bar and grill.

[Master Kakita Yoshi]

The food itself was truly delicious, not spectacular or fashionable, just plain good food, the steak was noticeable in its freshness and cooked to perfection, the potatoes were just as if they had been dug that very morning, and the wine.....

"Ahhh."

The glass came up again, it was the third, and each glass became a little sweeter and more fragrant every time it was hoisted.

"Are you sure I cant tempt you?"

The reply was unchanged as it had been the first time, a polite shake of the head, and encouragement to enjoy it alone.

"Its not right you know, a lad like you not taking a little of the good stuff now and again."

Without waiting for an answer he turned his eyes on the room.

The bar was host to a carnival of species, some blue, some green and scaled, others with a light haze of fur and others; less recognisable as humanoid, more reptile, others with varying attributes and apperances, it was truly a spectacle.

From the mouths of the patrons came conversation in a multitude of languages, all combined into a healthy buzz, but under the noise was somthing else, somthing different.

Turning back to his companion,

"Do you feel that?"

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian too enjoyed the meal, though with less lustor than his companion. He was a frequent patron of the bar and grill, and had come to know how the food tasted well, therefore was no so delighted to take it in. Never the less, he wolfed the food down with his overly healthy appetite, washing it all down with couple of pints of water.

"Do I feel what, friend?" he said with a quizzical raise of one brow.

[Master Kakita Yoshi]

"I feel an unusual...something... in the atmosphere, its like a disturbance of air, but more substantial."

Shrugging off his feelings he downed his final glass of wine and again allowed his eyes to rove the cosmopolitan crowd.

"Very unusual mix of people here, is this where all the trainees from the academy meet?"

[Lady DeVille]

De'Ville walked into the non descript grillhouse, her dark blue cloak drawn close against a chill only she could feel. To visit such an establishment was an innocent thing, but not this paticular one.

Here there were Jedi to be studied, or tormented. They seemed to gather here like flies to a flame. Lilaena frowned a little as the guard at the door stopped her, wishing she could wave her hand and influence his mind.

The best she could do with a hand wave would be disasterous to her purposes here. She had left her weapons on board her ship, but a Force user was never without resources.

[Dasquian Belargic]

"Aye, friend. It is just the undertone the Force brings to the place ... the buzz of life her is such a great size that the swell of Force energy within it is huge."

Dasquian glanced about also at the crowd, picking out familiar and not-so-familiar faces alike. One such figure that caught his attention had just entered - a dark creature, whom he thought went by the name of De'Ville.

"Yes yes, this is where we all come to meet. Newcomers find companionship here, whilst those who are looking to join survey the scene. You will often find promotion celebrations or parties of some other kind taking place here."

[Master Kakita Yoshi]

"Sounds like a pleasant sort of place."

He smiled in his usual way, showing the face he wanted the boy to see, but his companions change of mood was noticeable, even in an area packed with life as this, he still felt the edgyness settle on Dasquian.

"You alright lad, you look a whiter shade of pale than usual?"

[Dasquian Belargic]

"Oh... I'm fine. Just a little concerned, as always," he said with a healthy smile.

The appearance of the Sith was one he would have to monitor carefully, though he could not let it detain him from his business with Kakita.

"Hmm.. I cannot see my Master anywhere, it seems I will have to introduce you to her at a later date."

[Master Kakita Yoshi]

"Dont worry yourself about it, im not planning any excursions, we can meet your master later on."

Dasquian's manner had become more relaxed, or he had just improved his emotional masking.

Kakita took the cue from his companion and relaxed into his seat. He ordered coffee from a passing droid.

"Somebody of you're age should relax more, its not as if you're pray."

He smiled and sipped at the newly arrived coffee cup.

[Dasquian Belargic]

He let a soft laugh pass his lips.

"Quite the opposite, dear friend. We Jedi are always targets for the Sith,"

He gestured one hand around him.

"They see this is place as a hive, where they may come to seek out lightsiders to toy with," he mocked.

[Lady DeVille]

De'Ville shot the guard one last venemous glare as she walked to the bar. Some people got a little too zealous when it came to searching for hidden weapons.

She slipped between the patrons, and leaned against the bar, requesting a Sullustian beer. A minute later, beer in hand, she sought out a booth, preferrably out of the way of the traffic coming in the door.

There wasn't one available.

A serving droid ushered her to a table, much nearer to the center of the room than she liked, but she sat gracefully, removing her cloak and draping over the chair. Underneath she wore a black jumpsuit, complete with gloves and boots to match. The only difference in her appearance was evident when the cloak slipped off her head.

Her short black hair had been recently shaved, and was growing in, a dark stubble on her head. De'Ville sipped her beer, glittering green eyes watching the beings around her, and waiting for her apprentice to arrive.

[Master Kakita Yoshi]

"Sith?!? I know...I remember Sith. A filthy plague that must be burnt from the universe!"

The vehement reaction caught both men by surprise.

"It looks as if my memory is returning a little."

He grinned wryly, but his humor drained away.

"I remember hunting them and their allies, I killed some, but I must relearn what I have forgotten and resume my work."

Kakita saw nerves on his companions face and realized he was sitting bold upright leaning over the table; attempting to relax he downed the last of his coffee and sat back.

[Dasquian Belargic]

"Quietened your tone, Kakita. You never know where the Sithlings are hiding," Dasquian said, sighing a bit.

"It is good that you remember though them .. it shows that your loss of memory was only slight."

[Master Kakita Yoshi]

Kakita lowered his voice and softened his tone.

"Im sure that if I still had my former skills I would challenge every creature of evil in this place, I feel deep rage just thinking about their thoughts and actions."

He lent across the table, and whispered harshly.

"I know my purpose, I am here to crush them, one by one!"

The urge to smash his fist into the table was strong in Kakita, but on Dasquians advice he settled for clenching and unclenching his hands.

Looking down at them he saw tendons standing like cords and knuckles white over taught skin.

Between tightly clenched teeth.

"I remember things now....but I am having trouble controlling myself, please..please, hold onto my weapon; we must leave this place, just untill I can understand my memories...and regain my composure."

Kakita had started to shake, waves of unreasonable rage poured themselves into muscles and these strained against reason, all this resulted in violent convulsions.

"Take me out, quickly."

[Lady DeVille]

She waited a few more minutes, drinking her beer and watching the door. No one bothered her. In fact, no one tried to take her order.

If a waitress looked at her, the serving woman's eyes would slip over her. It was the only trick she could muster, a slight mind misdirection, causing her to fade into the background of people's minds. They didn't see her, they saw her and someone else...she never stood out in their mind as an individual.

De'Ville felt a disturbance to her left, and her green eyes tracked that direction. A young blond haired man was sitting with an older man. The older, white haired one was the source of what she had felt. He felt...dark somehow, and yet light at the same time.

Her eyes narrowed, and she downed the last of her beer. Where is Shaed?

[Dasquian Belargic]

After the sudden outburst from Kakita, Dasquian could sense a great deal of anger not only in him, but in the Sith also. Her curiousity in the duo's conversation was piqued, and no doubt soon she would try and interject - such anger as Kakita's could be moulded for her own devices; he was unharnessed, a raw source of energy, prime for the picking.

"Very well," he rasped, rising to his feet.

As he did so, he grabbed the mans arm and tugged him upwards in an uncharacteristic show of agression. He nodded towards the door and began to stalk across the room, keeping his eyes away from those of De'Ville.

[Master Kakita Yoshi]

His body resisted the pull, but his sence wrestled with his instinct and, guided by Dasquian, he managed to move towards the door.

As they were making slow progress, Kakita had time to follow the single worried glance that his companion directed at (what he could only assume was) one of the many sithlings that frequented the bar.

She was a dark creature with close cropped hair, and evil seated in the centre of her being. The sight of her drew a low animalistic growl from Kakitas clenched jaw, and he dug his clawlike fingers into Dasquian guiding arm.

[Lady DeVille]

She smiled at the pair, feeling the older one's hate directed at her. Perhaps he would start something interesting. This bar was as dull as tombs lately...not that she'd been in often.

De'Ville made a sligth beckoning motion with her index finger, and a filled glass floated off a serving droid's tray, coming to rest in front of her. She took a drink, keeping her eyes on the white haired one.

[Dasquian Belargic]

"Pay no mind to her," he murmured to Kakita as they passed through the crowded bar.

As they walked, he could feel the rage surging inside of Kakita ... how could he be a Jedi yet be so vengeful? That question would need to be answered later, however now he needed to get his friend away from the temptations of the darkside. Close to the door, he picked up pace.

[Karhtzen Shaed]

Shaed could not imagine a more annoying thing to be told to do.

First of all, to peaceably visit an establishment frequented by filthy Jedi.

Second, to have to visit said establishment naked.

Not really naked, but that was how he felt without his usual assortment of weapons and... "tricks"... about him.

Not much to look at from the outside, Shaed grumbled to himself. Plus, it was daytime. That never helped to improve his disposition. Ah well, there was probably a good reason for De'Ville ordering him here, he thought as he adjusted his black goggles again carefully.

Walking into the bar and grill, the Dark Jedi - in training, anyway - was stopped by some security type, who made sure - and then made sure again - that he wasn't concealing any weapons in his long black weathercoat or on his person. Annoyance. Shaed grinned grimly at the guard. Even a naked Dark Jedi could have torn his head off with ease. But whatever.

Kar't'zhen continued on, into the dimmer and cooler air of the grill. There were some strange types in here, all right. Not that he, as a pale half-human hybrid who had to wear goggles, had any room to speak.

He could sense De'Ville, somewhere ahead at one of the many booths scattered around. She was apparently employing a small amount of mind delusion to cloak the fact that she was an interesting individual from the patrons around her.

[Lady DeVille]

De'Ville saw her apprentice enter, and grimly stare down the guard at the door. With his darkened goggles, it would be hard for the NRSF soldier to gauge any sort of emotion from the pale man, but De'Ville could feel the annoyance roiling off him.

He saw her, and headed towards her table, brushing against the old man who was being led to the door.

There was something akin to a spark of electricity that ran through the room as the two bodies touched. And then, everything was ordinary again. The blond Jedi was still tugging the man towards the door, even as the man seemed to be resisiting.

De'Ville stood to her feet as Shaed drew near. "You came, good. Tell me, what do you feel in here?" She waved her hand towards the May/December pair by the door. "Take those two for example. Can you tell me what they are feeling, and what they are doing?"

[Karhtzen Shaed]

Shaed eyed the bartender as he apparently considered his answer to the question behind his back.

"They are... Jedi, for one thing. The little girly one is likely just a padawan learner, still. The old one... is odd. I must admit I am not certain that one is a Jedi."

Shaed pondered what he could sense in the old man when they had touched, seconds ago.

"I am no judge of Jedi, merely the executioner. I am much more affluent in many things concerning those who, like us, have tasted the Dark Side... and that tells me that that old man is... or was... not just a pathetic Jedi at one time. Or, perhaps, that he is just more... familiar... with us than most Jedi.

As to what the two of them are doing, I have no idea. The old one seems to be having... difficulties, but as they are both naturally fools, I can only hope that they accidently fall into a vat of some nasty molten material. Not likely on this planet, though. A pity."

The bartender, apparently out of the blue, walked over to the pair and handed Shaed a tall, opaque glass of some dark liquid without saying anything or having been physically told anything. A few of the bar patrons started yelling at him to hurry back, which he did.

De'Ville didn't seem to be pleased with his little mind manipulation in this place, Shaed noticed as he sipped his slowly frothing iced Dark Logic drink. Hmm. Not bad for such a backwater-looking place, though of course it wasn't on the menu and he'd had to plant the entire recipe in the bartender's head.

[Dasquian Belargic]

He ushered Kakita to the doorway, all the while listening to what the duo - two of them now, sadly - were talking about. After having pushed the old man outside, he turned and approached. On reaching them, he bowed without a sign of discontentment.

"Before I departed, miss De'Ville, I thought I might give your learner here a little advice, for it is obvious that he needs it."

He folded his hands behind his back, looking to Shaed.

"Thoughts such as yours should be kept within your mind, else people might hear things and think harshly of you ... it would be a terrible shame if the NRSF were to shoot you because of your griping."

He smirked somewhat, continuing.

"Also, if you wish to follow through your threats I would gladly meet you on the battle ground ... I'm sure you're not afraid of a 'girly padawan', hmm?" said the old republic Jedi Knight, smiling.

"That is, of course, if your Master will let you off your leash for long enough."

[Lady DeVille]

De'Ville inclined her head towards the Jedi. "He is on no leash. And if the NRSF wished to shoot him, by all means, they can try. Foolish Jedi, we are not helpless without our weapons."

She looked over the Jedi's shoulder. "Perhaps you should be more concerned about the old man you led out of here. For a friend of a Jedi, he is...extremely dark." Her eyes glittered. "He might come back in here, and then, I cannot be sure what might happen."

[Master Kakita Yoshi]

The rage abated once the distance between the sith and Kakita had widened, it cooled to simple anger and a simmering disgust, with the unsettlingly familiar feeling sitting in his gut he waited for his second time saviour to reappear.

The ebb and flow of life seemed to rush around his hunched body, he could feel it, especially the ripples caused by the Bar; extending tentative fingers, he caressed the aqueous and ephemeral substance, as his did so, he felt conciousness with ill intent rushing to meet him; reflex caused him to grab at the....'force' (he had heard it called), as the fist of his mind clenched, his anger abated, seemingly sucked out of him by benevolent conciousness.

He rose from his crouch and feeling calm and controlled as he had'nt ever before, he made for the Bar doors.

[Karhtzen Shaed]

Shaed smirked in his mind.

His pale white face, however - a sharp contrast to his utilatarian black goggles and unkempt black hair - stayed impassionate as he stared at the young Jedi.

"Careful, Jedi. Not eager to engage in combat... are we?"

He started taking another gulp of his beverage, raising the glass bottom high as he drank it down.

<And I am not incapable of speaking in a more... quiet... fashion, when I so choose>

Dasquian realized immediately that the voice was in his head. Shaed continued to finish his drink off.

[Dasquian Belargic]

"The business of my friend is no concern of yours Sith, I simply suggest that you keep a closer watch on this one," he said, gesturing towards the apprentice.

"He is far too sure of himself for one with so little ability."

With a smirk, he turned to look at the apprentice after having heard his voice in his head.

"Not all Jedi are meek and mild, Sithling. I wouldn't hesistate to defend myself, my Order or any of my comrades if you provoked me even slightly."

[Master Kakita Yoshi]

And I am not incapable of speaking in a more... quiet... fashion, when I so choose.

His hand had reached the door when the loudest whisper he ever heared reverberated around inside his head.

He cocked his head and strained to catch more, nothing was forthcoming; he assumed that the excessive and inept use of the force came from the Sith's apprentice.

"If that was my honoured companion's most skilfull employment of his gift I would probably feel a little less confident." he said to himself.

He pushed the door and stepped inside.

[Karhtzen Shaed]

Shaed's thin smile widened slightly. It was slightly painful to pretend to be incompetant, and no doubt De'Ville was wondering why he was letting his mind voice bleed into more than just his subject's consciousness - not to mention how crudely and loudly he'd done it - but if it made these Jedi fools think he was also incompetant, then so much the better.

That he was sure of himself... well, he'd be the last to refute that particular charge. Though, of late, it had been proven to him that he was somewhat... over sure. Somewhat.

"Not all Jedi are Jedi, then, hm? It would not seem that simple provocations would require such... defending. Perhaps you feel you have something to prove. By the way, that is a simply lovely haircut. Does your husband cut it? You must give him my regards."

He continued to stare at the young-faced Jedi through his impenetrable goggles.

[Lady DeVille]

De'Ville sat down again, to finish her Sullustian brew. The fact that Shaed was using his remarkable mental abilities was a little unnerving, since she had no paticular control in that area.

That he was talented, there was no doubt. That he was also extremely proud and self confident was also evident to her. Although she had not spent a formal training session with Shaed yet, this was serving nicely as a way to study his reactions to certain stimuli.

He was controlling himself well. For the time being. De'Ville set her empty glass down, and ran her hand over her shorn head. "Shaed, we are guests here. Even if our hosts are treating us poorly." She gave the blond Jedi a dark look, promising nightmares if he pushed his luck.

[Master Kakita Yoshi]

The noise and smoke from the bar was no longer a problem, acclimatised, he stood in the doorway and scanned the room for his blond haired companion.

He stood at a table facing the Sith couple, the shorn master and the spectacled student.

A self conscious smile cracked his lips. How had he been moved to any state of emotional distress by those creatures.

The more experienced of the two was shorn like a convict, what she was trying to prove was beyond Kakita but she certainly did have something to prove.

The younger of the pair, the truest candidate for the use of the term Sithling; was sat by his master, he obviously felt he was the best thing in the room and his attitude was reflected in the way he sat: lounging in the chair, with a glass in hand, unprepared for any sort of altercation.

His eyes fell at last to his companion, resplendent in light shades and clearly the purest thing those twisted Sith had ever confronted, he was relaxed and was involved in the edgy banter that resulted from a Jedi-Sith meeting.

He decided to join his companion, but intuition advised caution.

He had no idea how many of the enemy were in the now crowded bar; plumbing the depths of memory he found a familiar feeling, he knew its result and after a half minute of concentration he opened his eyes to a world of light and dark.

Methodical turns of his head scanned the crowd, his vision was all silhouettes some dark some light, but he didnt find any as black as the pair at the centre table; confident he faced the only danger in the room he restored his vision and came to Dasquian's side.

[Dasquian Belargic]

"So that is the extent of your power? Petty insults. How predictable," Dasquian said with a smile.

"Perhaps if you removed those ridiculous goggles you're wearing you'd be able to see what type of situation you're in here," he gestured one hand around the bar.

"I'd advise you step down and cease your threats, or else you and your Master will dealt with in a most painful fashion - we may be peace keepers, but we deal out punishment severly where needed."

Dasquian folded his arms tightly over his chest.

"I wonder just how cocky you would be without the back up of your Master here, hmm?" he said, canting his head to the side.

"Are you going to challenge me?" he barked in challenge.

[Master Kakita Yoshi]

Speaking directly into Dasquian's mind Kakita said.

I must say, this is a whole new side to you Dasquian,

He smiled to himself.

but I can't see how the Sithling will ever except you're challenge, he's young, but not moronic.

He faced the pair at the table and bowed politely to the eldest.

"You are Deville?" he cleared his throat nervously.

"I apologise for my hasty departure milady, It was very rude, but I am happy to make you’re acquaintance."

As if the two younger people were not on the verge of beating each other into oblivion Kakita lent towards the Sith master and spoke in a conspiratorial whisper.

"These young people seem to be convinced that a certain amount of violence is required here, of course we both know that my 'Girly'," he winced at the choice of words, "friend is the most experienced of the two, in a combat you're rather green apprentice would come out the worst, I must ask you to rein him in before he is hurt."

[Karhtzen Shaed]

Shaed set his empty glass down on the booth's table as the younger Jedi finished talking to him with a final, shrill (Shaed thought) question.

"No. Of course I'm not challenging you. Why bother? You seem to be enjoying yourself much more by challenging me, though I'll admit it's unusual behaviour for a Jedi. You'll be pleased to know I accept. Though why a big, strong Jedi like yourself should try to earn a fight with a no doubt sadly inexperienced... Sith..."

He hissed the words in distaste.

"...Is beyond my ken. But maybe you'll find yourself wrong. About a great many things. And I haven't threatened you yet, Jediling. The only being I've only noticed dishing those out since I got here is you."

[Lady DeVille]

ooc: This thread is going good..just one thing: please read posts carefully to make sure you know what we're doing. Shaed never sat down. Shaed never let his voice bleed into Kakita's head. We've gone along with these little "changes" for the sake of the RP, but please read better. <img src=http://www.ezboard.com/image/emoticons_classic/smile.gif ALT=":)"> /ic:

...he's young, but not moronic. De'Ville let nothing show on her face to indicate that Shaed had sent an echo of the white one's words into her own head. He must have intercepted their "private" conversation. She would have a great deal of work to do with this one, but in some areas his previous master had already polished him nicely. He was keeping her up to speed on the Jedi's mindset. Very interesting.

Of course, the great Sith Master Banestone was never one to use excessive pleasantries.

De'Ville kept one ear on Shaed's lukewarm conversation with the hotheaded Jedi, while listening to the old one prattle in her other ear. "I assure you, my apprentice is in no danger. This bar is considered a no fighting zone. Unless we have to defend ourselves, the only sparring will be with words."

She turned to the old man, resplendant in his white robes. "I suggest you refrain from making assumptions about things you obviously know nothing about." With a flick of her finger, her glass spun about in place, and kept spinning, its movement guided by the Force. She didn't come here for conversation, and these beings were quickly growing more annoying by the second.

[Dasquian Belargic]

"You accept my challenge. Very well," Dasquian said promptly, before looking to De'Ville.

"Perhaps you would join us? I imagine combat between the four of us would proove most interesting ... my friend here is probably a more equal match for you apprentice, whilst I am more up to par with your ladyship."

[Kar'h'tzen Shaed]

"First you challenge me, next you say you won't even fight me, but my master. Next you'll be trying to kiss me or stab me in the back."

Shaed snorted.

"But no matter. I am not particular... whether I fight THIS Jedi or THAT Jedi is not of concern."

Shaed inclined his head around the room exaggeratedly as he talked in a sarcastic tone of voice.

"As you can't seem to make up your esteemed and most nobly enlightened mind, I will await my master's further instruction first. If you want to bite off more than you can fit in your mouth, go ahead."

Kar't'zhen's face swivelled to watch De'Ville's pronouncement.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville felt like laughing at the Jedi who was so crudely challenging the pair of Dark Siders. "I cannot comprehend what you wish to prove by your death, Jedi. We have not come here to fight. Leave us in peace, or leave us in pieces. It matters not to me."

The Jedi appeared to have fallen greatly from the old days of the Republic. This New Republic, and this new Jedi Order... They were challenging people in the bars now? Even in sites their own government declared a no fight zone? It was mind boggling.

De'Ville spread her hands. "As you can see, I am not armed. Here is your chance, Jedi. Strike me down. My apprentice will not stop you from chosing your fate. I am right here. End this now!" Her eyes bored into the blond Jedi's face, and her voice echoed in his ears.

[Kakita Yoshi]

"Strike me down?" Kakita spluttered.

The mask of mature detatchment slipped and a large mirthfull grin spread across his face, he lasted a full minute under the gimlet eyes of De'Ville before a laugh evolved from the simple grin.
The siths obvious contempt just fuelled the old mans jovial mood and a full throated belly laugh exploded from his grinning mouth.

Stepping back and bowing low he said "I humbly apologise you're supremecy, I had no idea that I was addressing Empress Palpatine."

A deep sigh re-established the veneer of calm, inside he bubbled with amusement.
Again turning to the Sith Master,

"Forgive an old man a cheap joke mi'lady," his expression hardened "But I got tired of your stalling, I am wearied from watching your elaborate dance of words."

[Kar'h'tzen Shaed]

Shaed was looking dispassionate again.

"Then go away, you relic. Go back to your museum, where the Jedi are still portrayed as being at least partially in control of the galaxy. You may want us, but we don't want you."

The bartender again disturbed his regular habits by going over to their booth, and Shaed sat down once more as his old glass was exhanged for a brimming over one.

"We are just two completely defenseless travelers, after all - passing through on our own business. This is your bar, your planet. Maybe you can pursuade the guards to give you your weapons before you start trying to back your words up with... force. Actions speak louder, after all - and I seem to be going deaf."

He seemed to almost enjoy trying to provoke these Jedi in this... well, this strangely unprovoking way.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville sipped her drink, every fiber in her body intent on destroying these insolent Jedi, and yet hidden behind a mask of calm.

The Order was indeed corrupted. There was no hope for order from the Jedi, only from the Dark Jedi would salvation come for the galaxy. Chaos would be banished from the universe, one way or the other. She sipped again, her left hand clenched under the table, trembling with trapped power.

Once the move was made, there would be no going back. Under normal circumstances she would not hesitate to tear these weak ones to pieces. But there was more than one kind of warfare. Shaed was learning from this experience, and it would serve him well in the future.

[Marcus Telcontar]

At the other end of the bar...

A lone Jedi Master, boots on the table in front of him took a puff of his pipe, then blew out a haze of smoke, partially obsuring his face - which was already shadowed by the hood he wore. A sword was resting by his side and a tankard was by his elbow. It was also a dark corner, just the way he liked it as well. It kept him hidden and indistinct while he gained a view of all others in the Bar. Not the brightly likt corner he used to frequent as Tohmahawk / Turbogeek / Hunter, but one more suited to the stealth and silence he really was more like. A silent man who only spoke when he needed to, who preferred to watch and observe. And what he was observing was of great interest to him - for there was one in here whom he had taekn interest in for a long time, ever since they had met, on another planet. Since then, he counted her as a adversary to take notice of. Not the usual distain for other Dark Siders he gave her, but a respect.

They had crossed swords before and he believed they would again. But the real strength of Lilaena De'ville lay not in physical prowress, which he could safely say he was her master. Nor in sheer power or knowledge of the Force, for there were few who could compare with him - maybe Master Yogurt, maybe Gav Mortis. Where her real skill was, was in the process of the mind, a cunning mind that was used.

A rare one, she was amongst the Sith.

He observed the verbal jousting, a small smile playing on on his lips. This was proving to be most entertaining, even if the Dark Siders were getting the upper hand at the moment. He consdiered stepping in, for sparring with De'ville was always an experience.

He puffed out another smokescreen, eyes now intense and staring at the back of her head.

[Dasquian Belargic]

Dasquian snorted and turned from the scene for a moment.

"Come, Kakita... " he said gesturing one hand as he began to walk away.

"We have more important things to tend to than these Sith right now..."

[Kakita Yoshi]

"Truly."

He made to follow the youthfull padawan.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

ooc: do you really know what Palpatine said to Luke IC?? *I* don't know it IC, wasn't there, after all. :p/ic:

I wonder why the old one called me Empress Palpatine? Truly he is senile in his old age.

De'Ville watched their exposed backs as they turned away, pretending we are worthless, and made a tiny swirling motion with her hand. Her nearly empty tankard rose off the table and spun around in front of her. "My young apprentice, see how these ones, after not being able to best us with their so-called 'Jedi wisdom,' are leaving the scene.

"They dare not attack us, for in doing so they would betray the darkness in their hearts to all around them. Yet, why should we play into their hands? If I do not want to do battle today, what concern is it of theirs?" She flipped the tankard roughly, spilling the leftover beer in the direction of the departing Jedi, as an act of contempt. Turning to her goggled apprentice, De'Ville rubbed her close cropped scalp.

"I have nothing to prove to these Jedi. But in due time they will pay for their insolence." She attracted the attention of a serving droid. "Shaed, do you want something to eat?"

[Kar'h'tzen Shaed]

Shaed appeared to be vacantly staring after the departing Jedi. The fact that his eyes were concealed was largely responsible for this, of course. The fact that he appeared to be emotionless and acted like it did not mean he did not smolder underneath.

Truly... all Jedi would one day pay. For a great many things. The irony of behaving calm at all times he could - like a Jedi, almost - when he was... out and about... was not lost on him.

"In due time, Master," he agreed softly.

He turned his attention back to the more basic desires of life - one that all beings, Force-sensitive or not alike, shared.

"The root stew sounds repulsive enough to eat, but seems to be a local favourite... I suppose bruallki must do, instead."

He watched the serving droid with guarded mistrust. He did not trust droids in any form. Too much freedom granted to computers... not that there was any danger, unless they suddenly and miraculously learned to think for themselves. Perhaps more to the point, they were like nonbeings in the Force. You could not sense them anymore than you could a dead stick, and you couldn't make one do what you wanted unless they were programmed to do it already. Rigid, complex, and so useless and dangerous.

They were definitely a danger. But, in all likelihood, not this particular one. But, it was never a bad thing to be careful... he had heard many urban legends concerning the machines. From Luke Skywalker's near-human - yet impossibly outdated - astromech droid to a myth about the second Death Star. Still... all the legends were rather old.

Shaed emptied his mind quickly. Too much wandering and lack of focus... He was in the midst of countless Jedi. Eating. With the Master. His mind had wandered for nearly an entire minute.

He returned to the all-sharp-angles-and-hard-edges facade of his aura. Not that he wasn't. He lashed himself invisibly, within, with fury.

Perhaps he restrained himself too much, and the resulting leaks caused this little difficulty... he would have to ask the Master about this. Or perhaps that there were any leaks at all was the problem.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville grudgingly gave the droid their order, and sat back to await their food. Looking at her apprentice, she studied his vacant look. He was distracted, and slipping away on a tangent. He needed to learn focus.

She raised an eyebrow as his sense indicated he was focusing again. Good. "Shaed, tell me about your lightsaber." It was a fascinating weapon, which required great skill to manipulate. "Did you make it, or was it given to you by your old master?"

There was more to his story than met the eye, and she would get it from him. Piece by piece.

[Marcus Telcontar]

Insolence... that's a good one. I weonder what she would say if someone truly insolent walked up to her? It is a pity sometimes that Tohmahawk lies dead and is gone.

More to the point however, it seemed the young man with her was an apprentice of some sort. Given the Jedi Master believed that she was not fully in the Dark Side and open to be turned, maybe the apprentice would be as well. De'ville had fallen into a path of no escape and Marcus knew it was only a matter of time before her heart drew her off the Dark Path. Her son and her husband would draw her. Maybe a few taps however may help her and turn her to the path he knew well she was to be on.

Another puff on his pipe covered his musings.

[Kar'h'tzen Shaed]

Hm. The lightsaber...

Shaed wished he had it in his hands. Or, at the least, in the long empty tube strapped onto his right thigh where it slept.

"My old master... was not exactly a creature of reason, I am sure you are well aware. Very much a Sith, he reacted instinctually and his every action was a result of it, and not a thought process. His short-lived career as a Master of the Sith, his flight into hiding - everything, it seemed."

He thought briefly on when he had first seen Banestone. The being had awesome power, but not the mind to use it wisely. Of course, he never would have told HIM that. A Krayt Dragon was said to have a brain no larger than a fair-sized fruit, but it was still one of the more dangerous things in the galaxy.

"He never gave me anything. Even my - sadly limited - training with him seemed just to be one great whim."

A very dangerous whim for Shaed. The fact that he was still alive from the experiance was more proof of his passage as a Force adept than even his lightsaber.

"He was very skilled with mechanical things, however... for reasons I am sure you know. After he was satisfied I would not kill myself like a fool with one, he began teaching me the basics of creating lightsabers."

Shaed inspected their freshly-brought food briefly, then resumed his narrative.

"I suppose it is a reflection of my attitude towards most Sith that I decided to create one that he - and likely not many of them - could ever wield. That I designed it to continue to test me... and not as a mere prop that would always only be a tool anyone could use."

He could not resist a prideful half-smirk from beginning to cross his face as he thought about the lightsaber. It was very much a double-edged weapon to use - it required him to use his very sharpest mindset, and the keenest grasp of the Force.

Showy, certainly, but a little inspired fear or awe in a foe was never a bad thing.

Shaed let his throughts trickle down the path of building and learning to use his lightsaber - this was actually his third, but the others were mere learning tools - a while longer. This beautiful and deadly saber had cost him two entire years from his life to slowly learn how to wield.

Patience could bring about mighty things, he had learned at an early age. Not a Sith teaching. The Sith had taught their own to be secretive and cunning and deadly, but not to be... patient. In truth, sometimes the quicker mind worked slower.

It was not until late in the second year that he had even started to use it to duel with his former Master.

Not long before he had left.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

The shorn woman nodded slowly, chewing a mouthful of...what was it she had ordered? Dewback. Not bad, either. She cut another forkfull while she thought about what her apprentice had told her.

Banestone was not known for his incredible brains, that was truth. When she had sparred with him in the Sith Order's training rooms, she had been young in the force. Less experienced than even this one beside her. She had been rash, and bold, when a little cunning would have probably won the day, and allowed her to spend a little less time in the infirmary.

"Banestone was a hard taskmaster. That you survived your training at all says something about you." She refrained from opening praising him, as his ego was already large enough.

Shaed had boasted already that he had killed his former master in a lightsaber duel. Whether he had lied or not remained to be seen. She did not fully trust him to tell the truth on the matter.

De'Ville chewed another bite of steak, and changed the subject again. "Do you sense any other Force users in this room?"

[Marcus Telcontar]

One of the abilities Marcus had was to "hide" himself in The Force, so that a scanning Force user would miss him entirely. It was a double blind to an extent as it limited what he could do in return, but he had long learned how not to rely on the Force, unlike a lot of Jedi. Such was his skill that it instead of a beacon of Force strength that he should be seen as, the Master was dimmed.

An advantage that other's couldn't spot what he was until too late.

He concentrated and went into Hide. There was one step further, which he called Shadowing, which precluded all other use of the Force - but when he was fully Shadowed, other uses of The Force became unnecessary.

Time to play a game of sabre cat and shaak with these two.

[Kar'h'tzen Shaed]

OOC: We must be talking really loud, everyone always seems to know exactly what we're saying to each other in a private conversation in what I assume is a busy and noisy environment. Anyhoo, Marcus, let me know if this is not an accurate representation of how Hiding works (or how well you are Hiding) so I can edit or summat./OOC

Shaed could not resist the little smile that crept out of his mouth and started to stretch his cheeks. Focus...

"I have not been aware of any... at least none have been openly using the Force in here but us. But I shall check, Master."

Kar't'zhen was nothing if not thorough. Thorough in doing things he said he would do, at least.

He opened his senses to the dark turmoil within, which somehow - as always - cast his senses beyond his mortal restraints through the Dark Side of the Force. Briefly he checked the tapcafe-like Bar and Grill for the obvious Jedi - the ones who would be filled with the Force, maybe even using it at the moment. There were none of these inside at the moment, the only two there had been had obviously just recently left.

Focus. ....heat... pain...

His senses tightened. Anyone not open to the Force, but able to be? ...Apparently... apparently not.

Shaed's eyes stared straight ahead, sightless.

He was sadly inexperienced in the matters of Force users. He had been a Jedi youngling, about to become a Padawan, when he had been recalled from their Academy. By his parents. And then, much later, there had been Banestone.

A flash of searing anger passed over his soul as he touched on the thought of his parents. And to think he was now HERE. Among JEDI. Doing... nothing.

The rage fueled him for the last sweep through the Force around the Bar and Grill. The one for those who could Hide themselves... not that it was a thing he'd ever used successfully before. He'd never met someone who could cloak their essence through the Force as completely as himself, so who could he practice on? Still, he knew what to look for.

A being. All beings could be seen through the Force. Even invaded and altered, unless they could protect their minds either through canny wits or through the Force. But those beings who Hid their essences but not their existences... that was what Shaed referred to the cloaking (both physical and... or... mental) as, though he had no idea what it was really called... those beings, they could - should - be proved to be Force adepts simply by subtly entering the minds of every being in the room.

A long task for this humming place, but he needn't do much to intrude to see if their were shields or not.

Time passed.

Shaed finished his sweep of the room, finally. There were quite a few strong minds in here, but no Jedi. Wasted effort, but he had fulfilled his task.

His hands lay on the table, fingers still perpetually clenched over the palms. He casually summoned another iced Dark Logic through the bartender's equally frothy mind.

"No, Master. There are no Jedi... "

Shaed trailed off. Unless there were Jedi that would bother to both hide their essences AND their existences. That was REAL Hiding, and you couldn't check it by checking everyone's minds - you couldn't SEE them to check their mind. Would any Jedi do that? Here, anyway? No... not likely, Shaed surmised.

The bartender brought his drink and walked off, rubbing his head gently and calling to an serving droid for a pain tablet for a headache he was starting to get..

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville had sensed one previously, and had not observed the Jedi to have left. He was familiar to her...too familiar. Annoying was more like it.

Yet the apprentice was correct. There were no Jedi to be sensed in the room. It curious, but not too alarming. The Jedi would not start anything here. It was a safe haven. "I sense the same, Shaed. But my question was slightly different than your answer."

She finished her meal, and accepted a water from a serving droid. "Tell me, Shaed. What happened to Banestone?"

[Kar'h'tzen Shaed]

"Banestone has ceased to exist, Master. As I have mentioned before."

Shaed was quiet for a moment.

"Call if luck, call it whatever you wish. Before our last fight, he had gone into a reclusive life of hiding on a small, nearly uninhabitable moon past the Outer Rim territories. Why he hid... even I, who have devoted much of my own life to it, do not know. He did not speak much of his own past. But he did seem to not want to ever return... so you could say I did him a favour."

Shaed smiled. But it felt, briefly, like the wrong kind of smile to De'Ville. That he was telling the truth, though... that seemed, and felt, obvious.

Kar't'zhen put aside her comment about her question and his answer not completely matching. Who, other than Jedi, would she have wanted to know about? Besides, there still was no one other than themselves in the Bar who were deeply connected with the Force.

But De'Ville seemed to expect that there was someone... which meant he would continue probing as they talked.

[Marcus Telcontar]

No longer able to amplify sound by the Force - a nice trick when you wanted to evesdrop, but oone that became muted when he was in Hide or Shadowed - he continued to observe the two Dark siders. There had been a time when harrassing them would have been an interesting time diversion, but that was not what he wanted now. What he wanted was for De'ville to open her eyes and open her heart, to realise what she was becoming, even if she denied it on their last meeting.

And at their last meeting, he looked like someone else. It was possible Lilaena would not recognise Marcus in his true form and image, which would give hi the temporary upper hand for now. His feet came off table and he stood. Not a tall man, but still over average height, the stained travelling clothes he favoured resettling over his frame, the hood keeping his face covered. The pipe was between his teeth and he puffed on it as he stood. The tankard he picked up, then began to step forward quetly to where Deville presently sat. A moment later, he stood close to their table, a shadowy figure with sword by his side, tankard in hand and pipe in mouth, held by his other gloved hand. He knew he looked out of place, a thorwback to some age when technology didn't rule the Galaxy. But that was what he was.

"Good evening" he said in his real voice, a strangely accented Basic that she would not have heard before.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville looked up at the face, unfamiliar to her, and heard the obscure, accented voice. She took in the strange garb, the sword... sword?

Immediately on her guard, she allowed a smile to cross her lips. "Good evening." Only Jedi and New Republic Special Forces carried weapons inside the bar. She probed his sense as she spoke, and found -

- nothing? NRSF then? She detected only the flow of the Force, nothing that suggested a Force user. Perhaps the Jedi I sensed eariler...

"Sit with us, Master Jedi." It was a guess, but her tone revealed only confidence. This one was more than familiar. De'Ville's mind thought <a href=http://www.swforums.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=15731>backwards...</a>

[Marcus Telcontar]

He bowed, a slight smile creasing his weather beaten face.

"Very good. But no more than I would have expected from one like you. I would have been dissapointed if it were otherwise". He took the indicated seat, before taking the pipe stem away from his mouth and blowing out a haze of smoke - away from her so as not to be offensive.

I wonder if she has guessed yet. Only one Jedi has ever taken an interest in her when she has been here. Even with the good General now dead and gone, I'm sure she'll figure it out. To truly put it together. Lets see how fast

Something esle occured to him, a thought. She would not know his name. Not his real one.

[Lilaena De'Ville]

De'Ville looked at him. "Perhaps you think I have forgotten our last meeting?" Her voice was edged with anger. "Tohmahawk died. Yet you are here."

She mused, "The Chief of Security was not known as a Jedi, yet you are one." De'Ville held up her hand, and slowly pointed at the sword, more than half hidden by the table and his cloak. "I remember that sword, Jedi." Her eyes flashed with anger, and she clasped her hands in her lap, hiding the fact that it was shaking.

Not with fear. She did not fear him. She had faced him, and neither had left the victor. But with fury...a deep seated rage that would not die.

[Kar'h'tzen Shaed]

Shaed remained silent... and watchful. Very watchful.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"Oh, you doremember now. I am glad the Dark Side has not addled your thoughts then. I would be most dissappointed if it had. You are always such an interesting person to speak to Lilaena Tondry, our conversations are a memory highlight. You are correct, Tohmahawk was no Jedi. And I am not Tohmahawk. Nor am I Darth Turbogeek. I am something else entirely. Both of them had soemthing to hide and weakened themselves. I do not"

Another puff of smoke curled from his barely seen lips, dark and intense eyes hidden by the shadowy hood stared out at this woman whom he had been sparring with for years.

"Have you considered the truth in what I said to last we sat in this bar? Or do you still deny what I sense in you?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

Ignoring him for the moment, De'Ville turned to her apprentice. "Shaed, you cannot sense this man in the Force. It is dangerous to lose sight of one's opponent at any time, not just in battle." See if you can find a way in, to see past his trick. She thought the sentance quite clearly, knowing the Jedi would not be able to read her mind while Hiding.

And while you're at it, find his name. She turned back to the Jedi. "I have considered what you said, and find nothing in me that makes me weak." De'Ville did not smile, yet there was a hint of it in her tone, "Perhaps your Jedi skills are not as attuned as you would like, Master Jedi."

[Kar'h'tzen Shaed]

The slight widening of Shaed's nostrils were the only indication he gave that he had picked up on her thought. It also gave voice - albeit a very small one - to his thoughts on the chances of picking through a Jedi's head without them being aware of it. And when he couldn't truly even sense the man.

Shaed's fingers gripped his palms even more tightly, turning the white of his knuckles whiter. He briefly enjoyed the sensation of feeling individual blood cells trickle through their miniscule conduits inside his knuckles, as he swelled inside, invisibly, with the Force.

If he could not see the man, it meant he was quite obviously being blinded. Light could not be twisted to hide oneself, not like a ship's cloaking device. No, Force users who craved invisibility could only find it by making others BELIEVE they were invisible.

And if another person knew that someone was not letting him see things through the Force as he normally would... then the effect could become much like how an adult could see a child, no matter how hard the pup's hands were over his own eyes.

Something like that, anyway.

Well... power with power, then.

Shaed stared at the man. The Initiate KNEW the stranger's mind was there... visualized it... KNEW... he KNEW... he felt pressure building up in what seemed mostly like the front of his head. And although the feat seemed as if it should have been accompanied by a loud popping sound, Shaed suddenly beat through the deception, and the man's mind lay revealed to him.

Partially, anyway. But a toehold meant a foothold meant a stronghold, and Shaed knew the minds of humans very well indeed... in the span of a few seconds, the man know was being informed by his senses that Shaed no longer could see through his cloak, that the apprentice had given his best excertion in the matter and had been able to glimpse his Force essence only briefly before being overpowered once more.

Shaed furrowed his brow with defeat.

And smiled inside as he began, carefully, gently, probing through the Jedi's mind to discover the information the Master desired. Too much and the man would quickly realize that Shaed was actually feeding HIM a delusion. Shaed wondered if there would be enough time to discover anything that he wanted to at this bone-achingly slow rate.

He carefully set apart a part of his concentration into pretending to go back to watching the conversation, and another - briefly - to pulse a message into De'Ville's own mind.

In. Stall him.

Kar't'zhen would have felt sweat beginning to bead on his brow... if he'd been able to consciously feel ANY physical sensations just now.

[Marcus Telcontar]

"You are strong, but not in the way you think. I have forseen it. You may think The Dark Side is powerful in you, but I have seen it slip. I know it slips. The proof is your child. Or are your seriously trying to tell me that you hate what came from you? Can a mother hate part of them? Can you nurture and grow something in you for nine months and think the Dark Side will remain with you? Come now, uo are lying to yourself....."

There were other ways to observe a person and not with the Force. There was body language and in all his long years, he had learned to read the sub concious and unspoken signals that one's body would give off. It was one reason he kept his face hidden and his body cloaked - to hide the small and tiny signals. Something had passed between De'ville and the young man. There was no need to be a Jedi to know that.

Even as Marcus replied, he could see the young man was showing signs of concentration.

What would he be doing I wonder? Trying to sense me? I would in his place. What would he find and how?

Marcus knew very well what could be found and it would be confusing. The Master may have looked like a human, but he was not. And it really was no point Hiding now anyway as it no longer suited him. He allowed his presence to become definate, merging out of the ebb and flow of The Force, which was the way he enacted his method of Hiding, to not stand out of the background of The Force. Like camoflage netting.

The double blind drifted away, like smoke from his pipe. Another puff was blown in the face of the young man.

"Why does your apprentice sweat, Lilaena? Is he looking for someone or some..... thing?"

Something wasn't right, he felt it now. Like a splinter in his mind. Like......?

"If your trying to play with my mind boy, let me give you some advice. Make sure I am human first. Otherwise, your tricks will not work"

His attention turned to De'ville once again.

"Isn't that right now?"

[Lilaena De'Ville]

She shrugged. "Perhaps." Lilaena looked around for a serving droid, as she wanted an after dinner drink.

[Kar'h'tzen Shaed]

"If I sweat because of the great warmth the Jedi of this crude establishment have shown me, what is it to you? Or maybe I'm used to lower temperatures," Shaed replied absently.

So he could feel it. Some of it...? No matter. Pour on the tact.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean... But you should make sure I'm a human before trying to make me care, like I'm sure a... human would."

The apprentice has seen many minds... most of them human, but many were not. It did not matter overmuch... all sentient creatures shared some things in common. And most importantly, he wasn't even trying to see past all the defenses and curves in this mind, singular and intriguing though it was. After all... what was in a name?

The Dark Jedi's mindsteps took him subtly past dark threads of thought, consciousness, the burning bright lines that indicated the man's use of the hated Light Side of the Force and were reflected in most corners of his visible mind and thoughts. But what he sought was a rather neutral and mundane thing. Name... name... here was a name. Was it his? He saw it reflected in many places.

Shaed wondered what all this about De'Ville having a child was. He did not see how it mattered to him, though.

Coming too near the lines of the man's mind that were bright white made Shaed squint under his goggles. He hoped he didn't flinch. Anyway, he was done here. And he didn't even have a clue what kind of mind he had been inside of.

He slipped away, invisibly, from Q'Dunn's mind. The tricks, the countless subterfuges, he let go and they vanished as one. Not that Marcus would see them go, he would just feel... hm, probably as a balloon that has just lost some air. The absence would be noted far more than the presence would have been, but Shaed did not care and didn't want to bother easing away while trying to have a conversation at the same time. The man was not hiding himself in the Force anymore, either, so his efforts would have been wasted.

Another, more guarded, message to De'Ville.

His name is Marcus Q'Dunn, if that means anything. And as I'm sure you're aware, he is no longer masked in the Force. Take care if you have more instructions for me you'd also like to keep from him...

Shaed drained his glass for the third time that night. He was definitely no longer thirsty, but was beginning to feel like permanently ruining something's life.