Fate's Delusions: Brief Lives

[Nya Halcyon]

<font size="1" color="#a0b0e0">(OOC: The Council has been informed about the events which are about to take place in this RP. If anyone besides the Council members wishes to participate after observing the events during the first few posts, please contact me at maraljade@hotmail.com)</font>

Prologue

"I'm not convinced that this is such a good idea. Someone is bound to recognise us, and then--"

She cut him off in mid-sentence. It was too late to voice any doubts now, or change their minds - they had come too far already. The Jedi had swallowed their tale, and been fully co-operative as they had landed on the planet. All that they had to do now was to leave this ship. So far, everything had gone according to plan.

"No one will do any such thing. There are only two Jedi who know me, and I've taken every precaution that they will not recognize me if we were to meet; and if your tale is true, then no one should be able to compare your face with anyone either."

Her eyes swept critically over him, then came to rest on the suspicious bulge at the side of his belt. With a quick motion of her hand, she snatched what he had been seeking to hide underneath his cloak, and now held a dagger up in the air between them.

"Tell me - what were you going to say what this is if they caught you with it? A toothpick?"

He chuckled. She glared at him and he went silent once more.

"The Jedi will scan us for weapons before we are allowed to enter their homes. Whatever else they are, they're not foolish enough to let two strangers walk around unsupervised and without making sure we can't hurt them. Finding this on you would raise their worst suspicions."

With a loud clang, she put the weapon down onto the console next to them, then she sighed.

"Remember - we're here to get help, and not to start a fight. And they won't offer us their assistance if they are in any way suspicious about us - so our story has to sound true, our identities have to look honest. That is all that we need to keep in mind for now."

But she couldn't hide the contempt in her voice as she added, after a few moments,

"Let them be the first ones to cast the stone. If these Jedi are foolish enough to consider two unarmed people a serious threat - one serious enough to warrant drawing us into violence by attacking us, it will be their own undoing. In that situation, there is no weapon that could help us, other than our own words."

He nodded; yet, when her back was turned as she walked down the short way towards the exit ramp, he took the dagger and put it into his small bag; then he followed her, drawing the hood of his cloak deeper into his face.

***********

The warm and humid air made her heavy homespun garments wrap around her like a second skin; within moments, she felt as if she had just walked fully clothed out of a waterfall. Beds of sweat were slowly trickling down her forehead, and strands of her raven-black hair were clinging to her cheeks.

Heat she was accustomed to, but not this humidity. It made her feel soiled, dirtied, ill at ease; but with stoic determination, she walked onwards anyway.

If her companion fared similarly, she did not know, nor had she the time or the wish to find out. They had had no choice other than to come here, no matter how much the weather conditions or being on a planet almost exclusively populated by Jedi made them feel uncomfortable.

It was not long before the couple reached the rest of civilisation. The buildings and the surrounding temple stood in stark contrast against the glaring orange light of the giant gas planet sinking against the horizon.

She blinked against the light, and to clear her eyes; wiping the sweat from her brow with the sleeve of her tunic. Exchanging a quick glance with her companion as they both stopped to catch their breath, she observed the ominous silence that lay over the settlement. Then a swarm of black beetles caught up with them.

Suddenly afraid, she broke into a sprint. Someone had once told her about the black beetles of Yavin - Piranha beetles they were called, and deadly was their nature. All of a sudden, the company of a few dozen Jedi somehow didn't seem like such a terrible thing, compared to being chased around the jungle by a swarm of killer bugs.

They were both running, and did not stop until they stood in the cooling shade of the main building's entrance.

Why was there no one there to meet them? She did not for one second believe they could have come so far without being observed, but as yet they had not seen a single person, nor any sign of life, except for those beetles.

She exchanged another glance with her companion. Were the Jedi playing tricks on them? She did not like this any more than she liked the Jedi, but she had promised to lay her natural dislike for these people aside when she had embarked on this journey. So, finally, somewhat timidly, she called out,

"Hello?"

[Seth Darkserpent]

"I still do not see any signs of life." He was never nervous, but something did not seem right.

The dark figure, clad in a dark robe, paced across the room back and forth. He had a hard time trusting a Jedi, but he didn't believe the Jedi would ignore them on purpose.

The man had taken on the name of Sven Warhall for this excursion. He wore his dark robe, somewhat like a Jedi's though made of different material. He also had a small bag that contained a dagger and a few credits. The hood on his robe had been shrouded over his maskless face to stop anyone from seeing what he looked like. Of course at this point he did not care either way if someone saw his face.

Long ago, this man had lived a different life and was known amongst the Jedi. Not of their kind, but of another. He caused trouble for them and got into certain scuffles. That man had died with the body.

These Jedi better show up soon. I hate waiting around. the dark man reflected.

Luckily hw had gained more control over himself each day. His patience widened, but he still hated to wait around for someone. Perhaps the Jedi think we are going to cause trouble. He didn't quite know what was delaying at least one of them to come and meet them.

"That's it..." He said, turning to his partner. The man cupped his hands over his mouth.

<font size=4>"Hello!"<font size=2> The sound of the word echoed through the hall. Satisfied, he nodded to his companion and slumped against a wall, waiting for something to reply.

[Warren Azalin]

:: Wandering down the halls of the Greater Jedi Order Warren made his way to the two waiting visitors, he had received word only minutes ago that ambassadors had arrived and wished to speak to members of the Council and the Jedi in general. He would be the first to meet them of course, not like he had anything better to do. ::

:: Walking into the waiting room Warren set eyes upon the two visitors; he could see that they were hesitant towards him as he walked into the room. There was something about the way they looked at him and at their current surroundings that made him assume that they had never been around Jedi before, or that it at least made them uncomfortable to be around them. ::

:: Pulling back his hood he looked at the two of them as he motioned to them both to take a seat. Again he could see their unease towards him, but he would have to get used to it eventually ::

"Welcome both of you to the Greater Jedi Order, My name is Warren Azalin, a Council Member here. I have heard that you two have come here seeking Jedi to speak to; well if you don't mind my asking what is it exactly you two have come to speak about ? Also I believe it has come to my attention that the Planet you two speak of is not that well known to my knowledge, mind telling me more of your planet ?"

[Nya Halcyon]

Her companion had called out once, too, before anyone came to meet them. The Jedi who did come to greet them... at first sight of him, shock overcame her: like Jeseth, he had wings. But as he approached, she realised that this man's wings were made of metal, and not natural. Her surprise and shock abated.

But at the back of her mind, a vague memory stirred; something she had once heard, and known. It remained elusive, hidden, but she would remember.

A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek, and she cursed inwardly. Wihtout the Force, she was doomed to feel uncomfortable in this humidity - and there wasn't a thing she could do about it besides hoping they wouldn't need to go outside anytime soon again.

The Jedi, as he came to stand there, made her feel more uncomfortable than she was willing to admit; the fact that he had wings, even if they were out of metal, made her slightly uneasy. Maybe that was to her advantage, however - it fitted quite well into the story they were going to tell the Jedi. She eyed the Jedi, as he addressed them, and intentionally did not meet his stare as he asked for more information. Hopefully, her companion was doing likewise.

She feigned surprise, and gestured for her companion to remain silent as she spoke,

"You have heard of our planet? We had thought the Jedi had long forgotten about Bpfasssh, or what happened there - after all, it was not something the Jedi could be very triumphant about."

[Warren Azalin]

:: Warren had heard little more than rumors of what had actually happened in the Bpfasssh system, apparently these two were proof that some of what he had heard was not a lie. But what was the truth then ? He decided it would be best to ask them before assuming anything. ::

"Well if you two don't mind me asking, what exactly happened on Bpfasssh?"

[The Shadow Jedi]

He was by necessity alone. He preferred it as well, keeping to the darkness of the temples and the buildings when he was like this. No questions asked this way.

He had been stepping quietly through a hallway, when he heard voices - unfamiliar ones. Ones calling out as if new and lost. He decided that if they were new, there would be little risk, thence he began to make his way in the direction that he detected them in.

A moment later, he encountered them - two humans and also a Jedi Knight he could see was Warren Azalin. Placing his hands behind his back, the cloak he wore hiding all features utterly, he spoke, his voice deep and peaceful.

"Good day to you all. Apologies for interrupting, I was not expecting anyone to be here. Please continue if you do not mind another person being here. Occasionally I wish for someone to speak to, even if my vigil in here is self imposed. Please, what is the interest in Bpfasssh, for I have likewise heard of something there"

[Nya Halcyon]

As she watched him consider his answer, she finally realized what that so elusive memory was of: the Jedi she was facing now was no other than Jeseth's brother. Jeseth had not been forthcoming with information about his own past, yet she had heard enough to know this much.

This was yet another matter she would need to put aside for now. She had not come to fight Jeseth's battles - she was here on a mission, and that was what she would need to stay focused on.

He would punish me for stumbling so much, for losing focus in a situation like this - Adalric will not rest for longer if I would fail so early into the game.... I shall need to be careful...

Her thoughts returned to the Jedi standing before her, and she fixed him with a haughty stare. About to give him a curt answer, she stopped short when another cloaked figure appeared out of the shadows behind them.

All of her instincts screamed out, a violent tingling at the back of her neck warning her of the figure's approach, but she forced down the reflexive attempt to probe the figure with the Force. They had come this far - their presence in the Force was shielded from the Jedi by the Dark Side, yet it took but one small wavering of their hold on it to give themselves away.

If either of the men had noticed, they did not seem to show any sign of it. She convinced herself to doubt it, for now, but instead decided to still their curiosity in return, to quieten any suspicion they might feel.

She sighed, dramatically, as she answered them, inflicting just the right amount of remembered pain onto her voice to make it sound authentic.

"It was a Jedi like you are who abused his power, who went insane with the power of the Dark Side. He gathered followers around him, and they spent many months terrorizing the planets in our system, killing everyone who would aproach them or beg for their understanding. It came to an uprising of Dark Jedi against the rest of the populace, and many of us died...."

She sneaked a pained look onto her face as she spoke on,

"... you Jedi were called in but it was too late when you arrived. Thousands had died, for nothing but the greed and hatred of a few men who had come to abuse their stations and their power in life. The Jedi turned with them, or died against them - none survived."

She let her voice drop low, until it was barely audible, and pain filled her mind.

"They died at their own hands, or in accidents as they toyed with their power. Then there was only one left, and he vanished one day.... we did not hear from him again. But since that time, no Jedi has set a foot upon our planet, or counseled our government - they are not welcome there, for we fear them too much. They hold too much power, and too easily can it be abused."

Her stare did not hold hostility, but she did not look friendly at them when she finally lifted her eyes.

[Warren Azalin]

:: Warren took in everything the young women told him about the Jedi and what had happened on Bpfassh, it seemed everything that he had heard so far was not false - something he was hoping for. He didn't understand how Jedi could have done such horrible things, but then again he couldn't understand why these two were before him now. If they were so weary of Jedi why had they come here ? What did they want from them ? ::

"I see...so that's what happened, well then if you don't mind my asking why have you two come here ? It doesn't seem like you two would be too overjoyed to come seeking help from those you seem to not trust."

[The Shadow Jedi]

:: Shadow Jedi reached out gently with the Force to examine who it was that spoke as he would normally do. Something strange made him frown and he contemplated as he heard the woman speak.

Ahhhhhh. No real Force presence. He knew someone else who would habitually do that and knew the signs well. Interesting. Hiding something were they? Many people had things to hide, it was not unusal. To deliberatly use a Force power to do so was interesting. He would not ask directly, but would elict the truth in other ways.

He reached out and touched Warren gently on the shoulder.

"Allow me to speak for a moment if you would please"

He didnt wait for acknowledgement.

"You speak with great passion on the loss of many beings. Indeed, a tragety it was. But it was NOT the Jedi's fault. Power in the hands of any being - be it military, spirital, monetary or by the Force - can be misused. Do not make the mistake of saying that because one person used his or her power or evil that the association must be drawn across all who weild similar devices and abilities.

A man may have a knife and at times that power can be too great and it too can be abused. Even a simple hand is a device to be used with wisdom and knowledge, used with the wrong motives it can carry out great evil. Would you deny hands to everyone because a select group can not be responsible with the hand?

Life itself is a great power. It can be misused and abused. It takes wisdom and knowledge to control and contain, likewise the Force. Not all will be wise and vigilance is the price to be paid for the Galaxy to have the Force. The Jedi seek to teach those withthe power to touch the Force to have wisdom in it's use. It is not perfect, for no system is but the alternative is to have Force sensitive beings, unknown across the Galaxy, using their abilities that are just as natural as the hand or foot or brain is, uncontrolled and unfettered. Without training and learning, the teaching of wisdom and control, you would have Bpfasssh many, many times over and there would have been no one to stop it.

Is that why you not teach the young, so they may have wisdom and disternemtn for the powers they have been given, no matter if that power is of mind, body or soul? That is what the Jedi do - we seek to give the necessary wisdom and disternment to give control."::

[Seth Darkserpent]

The Dark figure beside the female had been silent all this time. He was interested in a sense at what this other cloaked Jedi had to say. Although he blocked his feelings from everyone present.

Sven slowly turned his head and slightly peered at the second Jedi. Sven thanked the stars that his face was shrouded in darkness of his lengthy cloak. He had encoutered this Jedi in the past. One of the very few Sven had actually met face to face. This particular Jedi was Jeseth Cloak's half brother.

Sven had made his first appearance in public as his real identity at a certain graveyard. He encountered the one known as Warren Azalin, and his companion Gaven Antilles. He proceeded to beat Gaven to the ground and push Warren into a grave. He took Gaven away in the ship he had stolen.

There had been another time that Sven had been in Warren's presence.

The dark figure snuck into Warren's home and stole two feathers from his real wing. There he encountered a padawan by the name of Marr. Sven had been successful in escaping, without bringing any harm to himself.

Sven blinked twice, remembering where he was. He was in Jedi's territory. The Jedi were probably trying to get into his head and fidn out what he was thinking. Sven would not falter. He kept silent, and waited for his female companion to answer the questions, the Jedi had asked her.

[Nya Halcyon]

For a second, she could feel a slight touch of his presence in the Force against hers, but then she blanketed her mind, turned her presence in the Force "negative" as she had been taught long ago. The faint touching sense was gone.

The hope that she could remain undetected was dwindling, but it was not what she had solely relied on. Part of the plan, it was to serve only during initial contact; what would come next, would be more complex to accomplish.

She regarded the Jedi with a look of infinite sadness, but let a spark of irritability kindle her eyes.

"Indeed I speak with passion, and with sadness, of the past. My own family did not deserve death at the hands of... these men. But there was no one to stand against them when they struck down first the defenses of our cities, then the men, then the women... and children - and why? WHat was their aim, why did they wish to butcher all who stood against them, against their violence and insanity? Because they wanted power, wanted to rule over everyone, be the masters of life and death of each man on the planet."

The vehemence she spoke with, was nothing but a mask. Underneath, she calmed her mind, concentrated on herself, her innermost center of being. When she had found the core of her own self, she found her own deepest connection with the Force... and applied the same calm there that she had now standing in her mind. But smoothly, she carried on with her impassioned speech, lest either of the Jedi should see behind her intentions.

"And do not tell me what mistakes I am making if I blame the attrocities of the past on the Jedi. Had it been one Jedi alone, we would not so easily condemn all of the Jedi; yet those who followed willingly left behind their peaceful ideals and joined with the one who came first. They could have fought against it, yet they choose to join it. That is what we are afraid of, that is what we blame the Jedi for: they can wield too much power, and can too easily be swayed.

A man may have a knife and abuse his power, but the deeds of one man are nothing compared to one Jedi. A man with a knife is nothing compared to a Jedi with a lightsaber, and with the power over the Force."

From the center of her being, there was calm, peace, tranquility spreading forth into her body and mind. Drawing on experiences and memories that came from the life before the insanity that had drowned her under Adalric's care; on the emotions she could not help feeling whenever she thought of Jeseth - emotions that were now so calm and clear after the turbulent storm of conflicting goals; drawing on all these, she let herself be immersed in it, in a roaring gushing noise of pure white light embracing her. It was jubilant, exquisite - it was not forever.

She carefully worded her speech, moulding it in ways that, together with the subtle sense of what she would let them see, would show them an alltogether different view of her opinion.

"It is true that the Force can be used only to gain knowledge and wisdom, but where does knowledge and wisdom originate other than in experience? And to gain experience, there must be incidents to learn from. But do not these incidents, or accidents, already cause too much damage? Do not the Jedi gain their knowledge and wisdom of keeping the peace, by learning from war?"

She was one with the Light Side, as she would be again soon with the Dark. It was astonishing how easily it came to her, through the murky dark reaches of the past months, years, decade. But it had always been with her, reminding her of a life she could have led, if not Fate had willed it otherwise; so easy to access, but it seemed that too much stood between her and the Light. Those years of the past she could not forget: the EVENT that had changed her life and brought her to the Dark, brought her to Adalric - all these years when terror of her own horrible deed, of the patricide she had committed, would not allow her any peace; all these memories kept her firmly anchored to the Dark, and allowed her only glimpses into that other life.

She wondered if Adalric in her mind left her alone now because he knew what torture, what guilt she would feel once her unstable emotions would falter and the Light would be lost.

For now, she embraced it - embraced the Light Side, and shielded herself anew in it; but not before she had opened herself to the senses of the Jedi before her. They would now know that she - the woman who professed to speak for her nation of the fear they all held of the Jedi - held that same power; that she held it, but suppressed it in her own fear of it.

She blushed, showing that she knew that they had sensed it, and turned her face that her companion could not read the stricken expression on her face. Pleading eyes turned towards the two Jedi, silently imploring them to consider well what it would do to her if her companion learned of the secret she had so well hidden all these years.

Her words contained all the more fear, and a little of the contempt she would have felt at herself, were she indeed who she said she was. The great contradiction would seem ironic to the Jedi - but it was all the more so to her, to the Dark Jedi hiding behind this elaborate disguise.

"That there should be any being with a higher power to have and abuse, that is what we are fearful of. The past has not shown us how we can be confident in their power, and look to them to aid us against danger and death - yet now we take a step towards you Jedi. We have come to see what has become of your ideals, of your creeds; we have come to see if there is a reason we should not feel afraid to be in the company of a Jedi."

[Warren Azalin]

:: Time passed by slowly as the woman sat there talking to him and the Shadow Jedi, he was hearing all that she was telling him but something was not making sense. He could feel something in her that he could not place what it was exactly, it was this enigma that bothered the young Jedi, what could this woman possibly be hiding from them. He began running assumptions through his head but crossed almost all of them out instantly. She was obviously not sent there to kill anyone and she was certainly not one of the Dark, but something was not right - then he felt it. Coming from this woman was a small hint of the force, he couldn't believe it. Here this woman was talking about the Jedi and their misuse of the Force when all along she could use it as well, that must be why she was so strange around them. She was afraid they would sense it in her. Turning things in his mind he started thinking. ::

Why would this woman come here if she could use the force?

How could she say these things about the Jedi only to end up being a Force-User?

Did she even know she could use the Force?

And if she did know was this odd feeling he felt from her contradiction?

Did all this add up?

:: He knew it didn't, none of this added up. All he could do for now was sit there and listen to her story. Sadly this woman was not the only thing that did not add up; Warren had been sitting there wondering who this Man sitting next to him was as well. Something about this man sent chills up the Jedi's spine but he could not place it exactly. For now he would sit back and let the man talk to the woman. Only after they had talked would he put his two cents in. ::

[Delirion]

(TTT for Shadow Jedi)

OOC: Hello? Are you still alive? I'd like to get on with this sometime before the next century :p

[Jubei SaDherat Vader]

(Strange ripples in the force had roused Jubei from his evening meditations in his quarters. Strange. Normally, the Force was something he could become used to, and meditating in this place had become something he did regularly. Yet...tonight the emanations he felt caused the hairs on his neck to stand on end. He knew not if if was for better or worse, only that it was exceptional.

Standing, Jubei gathered his robe, and exited his dwelling...walking through the hallways to the source of the things he could feel. Soon after, he could hear voices. Those of three men and a woman. A minute later, and he came across a gathering of people.

One he knew as Warren Azalin, another was a brother Jedi whom he had not spoken with. The two others, however...they were unknown to him.

Jubei reached out with the force, but found his attempts to search were peculiarly rebuked.

Blinking slowly, he drew his robes tighter around himself.)

Hello