So Think Fools: "Revenge is Sweeter Than Life Itself"

[Daen C'allyx]

The boy, evident by his seat in the center of the Bar and Grill, was by no means trying to blend in or make himself inconspicuous. Indeed, Daen C'allyx neither saw nor heard the other clientele in the establishment. He was far to absorbed in his present task.

Laid out on the table before him were a multitude of things. One was a datapad which appeared to contain information on terrorist movements in the Outer Rim. The second was a thin volume on the history of the planet Kiffex. A cluster of markers of varying colors were splayed over the tabletop, along with a ruler and a pencil. Taking up most of the space was a large, flat map. It was this that Daen was paying most attention to. He had a blue pen in hand, and every once in a while he would glance at the map, stare hard as if thinking, and then look to either the datapad or the book or both, before marking hesitantly on the map. Over the expanse of the map there were only two red marks, little dots with question marks above them.

It was the red dots that were most important.

For what seemed like the hundredth time that evening, a waitress came and asked the young man if he wanted anything, besides the glass of water that he had barely touched. Daen merely shook his head and delved back into his book. The Padawan had been in Yoghurts for several hours, and slowly his work had begun to take a rough shape.

Kiffex was the last place that he had been with his former Master, Iro Kann. He knew where they had started (it was marked with a black square), but Daen didn't know where they had ended up. The Council of Jedi on Almania had kindly but firmly refused to give that information to him, despite numerous requests. So now, even though he was finally seeming to come around and heal at the Order on Coruscant, Daen had taken to the notion of figuring it out all by his onesies.

Revenge was not something Jedi sought. It was reserved for emotion-driven people who couldn't see beyond what was directly in front of them.

For the moment, it seemed as if Daen C'allyx had forgotten which one of those he was.

With furrowed eyebrows the boy lifted the red pen and pulled the cap off with a small snap! He held it above the map, looked carefully again, and then made a tiny question mark.

"Got you. Maybe."

[Sin Vamel]

"Talking to yourself again, Daen?" I chime in from behind the padawan, giving him a rough slap on the back of his head just to suprise him further. I move around to his side and crouch down, folding my arms over one armrest of his seat, staring at him intently. "You know, people are going to start worry about you if you carry on doing that."

I stand and slump down into an empty seat and add casually: "Not me though, I couldn't care less if you finally crack, it'd be about time too. Just make sure I get your belongings!"

I laugh and lean back in my seat lazily, hardly noticing the maps and equiptment strewn all over the table and after a yawn I finally notice his datapad. Excitedly, I snatch it up and check it out. "Nice! I didn't know you had a datapad too. They're the best."

After a moment of examining the datapad with the same obsessive curiosity I have for my own prized datapad, I look up and smile sheepishly, having realised I haven't even had the decency to ask Daen how it's going.

"So Daen-- how's it going?"

[Daen C'allyx]

The slap to the head had startled him somewhat, but Daen had hardly given Sin a second glance. He nodded distractedly as the man spoke, inserting a "yeah" here, and a "uh-huh", there. For the most part he remained silent, totally captivated with the map.

Until Sin took his datapad.

Scowling Daen reached over and snatched it away. He set it back on the table in it's previous position and coughed.

"Don't touch that."

Returning to the job at hand Daen flipped through the pages of the book quickly, skimming the words with his good eye. He was slowed somewhat, for he had to run a finger along the sentences in order to keep his place. He hadn't said anything other than the reprimand to Sin.

"So Daen-- how's it going?"

Daen's eyebrows knitted together and he looked sternly at Sin.

"Shhh! I'm fine."

[Sin Vamel]

If it had been anyone else, I would've already thrown my first punch, back where I come from you simply don't talk to people like that if you want to see the next day and at best, Daen deserved another good smack upside the back of his head to reprimand him for his lack of respect. But I resisted the urge and neglected what my instincts shouted at me. Instead I backed off, which wasn't like me, but it was the compilation of maps and pens which had now caught my attention.

"Look, I know you're busy." I begin in a quiet, controlled tone. "But what are you up to? It looks interesting, anything I can help you with?"

Wow. Listen to me, I can be sensitive. I can be a nancy boy. Go me. I wait for Daen's answer, this had better be good after all my efforts!

[Daen C'allyx]

An annoyed sigh and roll of the eyes preluded his reply.

"I'm mapping things."

His exasperated gaze met Sin's. Normally Daen was fairly low-key, straightlaced. But today he was in no mood for anything but fitting the pieces of his puzzle together.

"And unless you were on Kiffex last year, then no, you can't help."

He bent over the map again, studying it carefully. If only he could remember...

A glance up and it was evident Sin was still there with a barely-controlled look on his face. Daen frowned, oblivious.

"Did you need something?"

[Sin Vamel]

"Kiffex? Last year? Uh--"

Now I was at a loss for words and that was something that never happens. And I stress never, unless I'm being confronted head on by a certain fiesty read head called Vysten. She often left me speechless. But no-one else, after all, I was used to people enjoying my company; I am good company, aren't I? I'm a fun guy! What's the deal here? I'll make good conversation if it kills me here.

"So, uh-- mapping things? What does that mean? Are you drawing a map?" I look at it with a face which suggests I know what I'm talking about and with an educated frown, I nod my head in approval. "Very good work. How long did it take you to draw it?"

[Daen C'allyx]

"Five minutes. I bought it at a tourist stand."

With a reluctant look Daen put down his pen and leaned back, though he was far from relaxing. With a look to make sure that nobody was listening to them, the boy pointed to the black square.

"That is where I got these, among other things."

He pointed to his blinded eye and then to the long, graceful scar that ran the length of his face and looked away. Daen had never talked about his disfigurements, and Sin had never brought them up.

Next his finger traced the sketchy blue lines that veined over the paper.

"These are where I think we went."

He didn't explain who the other person in the 'we' was. Instead he pointed out the three red question marks.

"And this is where I think the people who did this to us are."

[Sin Vamel]

Why is it whenever I try to sound even remotely intelligent I end up making a fool of myself? I retreat back into my seat with telltale patches of pink in my cheeks, I'm frustrated now too and remain silent throughout Daen's explanation. I'll speak when I have something to contribute from now on, no more smart stuff for me. Whne Daen pointed to his eye and his scar I nod in understanding but not sympathy; it's not that I'm uncaring, well, I am but it's just that I've been around people with much worse disfigurements than that and the last thing they want is false sympathy. And I'm not the type to patronise someone with it.

"So what do you plan on doing once you've mapped-- sorted all this stuff out?" I ask with some curiosity but I wont ask him to elaborate on the ins and outs of his story until he finds it neccessary, if that time ever comes. I study the map and follow the bright markings but not really understanding them, I don't recognise any of the systems but get the jist of what Daen is telling me.

"Do you plan on going there?"

[Daen C'allyx]

Actually, Sin brought up a good point. What was he going to do if he ever figured out where he had been? Daen almost shivered as he recalled the fantasies he'd been having lately. They were always long and drawn out, very specific.

Very bloody.

Slowly Daen nodded. Yes, he was going to go to Kiffex. That much he could admit to without much trepidation. He and Quay'Na had already decided on that

"Yeah. I think I probably will. When I find a ship to get there."

He kept his gaze on the map, specifically the red ink. Red ink. Red blood. Frell, he was getting morbid.

"...I'm going to find them, Sin."

[Sin Vamel]

"I don't blame you, buddy."

So that was my answer, it was poor and I knew it but it's not like I'm the sensitive type anyway so I just continue staring at his map. More and more this little project of Daen's was quickly starting to sound like a quest for revenge and the thought of getting involved both excited and worried me. Aren't I supposed to be a Jedi in training?

"I'd be doing the same thing you're doing right now, actually."

This I add in order to further encourage Daen; he's a friend so what's wrong with me helping him out in need? Nothing, that's right and besides, he could do with having me and my blasters at his side in sticky situations. So I blurt it out rather than beat about the bush.

"Want me to come?"

[Daen C'allyx]

This was all kinds of complicated. The moral implications alone aside, Daen had already involved another padawan. Or, maybe she'd involved herself, he couldn't remember. Either way he was reluctant to let anyone else risk Jedi life just to pacify a few personal fantasies. He could just picture having to explain to the Council why the three of them had decided to go and off a half dozen beings.

On the other hand, Sin was his friend and he was volunteering. Besides that, Daen didn't know how comfortable he was travelling alone with a woman, even if it was completely innocent from a sexual standpoint. The matter boiled down to pure superficial reasoning; Sin was the only person that Daen had gotten to know when he was in a halfway-normal state.

A glance down at the map, and then the padawan nodded.

"Yes. If you'll do it."

[Sin Vamel]

"I wouldn't have offered to go if I didn't intend to see it through." I'm speaking in the cold and formal business-like tone which was common place in accepting a job to take someone out back in my seedy days and quickly I snap out of it and give Daen a curt but reassuring smile. Then I fish into my pocket and pull out my packet of cold stims; no illegal subtsances in these ones, for a change.

"Want one?" I offer the pack to Daen, speaking through the corner of my mouth, keeping the stim firm in place between my lips. I caught his eyes and saw in them that chilling emptiness which could be found in the eyes of every person out for revenge; real, cold-blooded revenge and I would help him put those bastards away.

[Daen C'allyx]

"No, thanks."

Daen shook his head at the offer of a stim. He needed to concentrate, really concentrate. There was something nagging at his mind, something important that he suspected would be key in helping to discover the location in question to specific degrees. Daen put his hands to his temples and breathed out a frustrated breath.

"I can't remember Sin, if I could just remember something, anything..."

The young man closed his eyes and began to mutter under his breath, shaking his head now and again. Combing through the memories was an unpleasant task, but Daen wasn't letting it bother him today. Today it just fueled his determination.

"... up some stairs, we went up some stairs and... then, I don't know, but we were outside in a... in a field, or something... and it was empty..."

Daen's eyes flew open and he looked at Sin, almost in surprise.

"Jesus, no, there was a tree. One goddamn tree!"

Quickly Daen grabbed the book on the table and began to flip through the pages, glancing at the illustrations. He got to the last page and frowned before beginning to flip backwards again. Somewhere in the middle of the book Daen yelped and slammed the volume down onto the table. With a vidicative finger he pointed to a sketching of a thin, willowy black tree with dark green leaves.

"There, right there! That's the goddamn tree!"

Daen read the caption below the drawing and then the paragraphs below, practically squirming in his seat in anticipation. His attention turned back to the map, one finger began to trace West from a blue river line. After several minutes, and direction changes, Daen stopped. He tapped the map and took the red pen from the tabletop.

"There. The only place on this whole damn planet, where those trees grow."

With a flourish he red-x'd the spot.

"I'm not sure, but I'll bet my life that's where they are."

[Sin Vamel]

Fixed to my seat, I wisely kept my trap shut for fear of saying something which might just make this ticking time bomb go 'Boom!' Clearly, Daen was on a roll and I didn't want to throw him off his trail of thought and with each revelation he effortlessly reeled off I found myself more and more bewildered. So I'd either nod in understanding or pull faces of varying curiosity.

"So--" Plucking up the courage to lean forward and glance at his notes, I point to the red 'X' and ask: "What planet is it?"

[Daen C'allyx]

"Kiffex. It's pretty far out there. Here,"

Daen rubbed his sore eyes and from underneath his map pulled out a star chart. He tapped 'Coruscant' lightly with a pen, like a teacher, and then moved waaaaaaay out.

"Okay, here, 'wild space'. Just before all the unchartered regions, this is where I'm from, Almania. And Kiffex,"

His pen moved farther still, to an unmarked spot on the chart.

"Should be somewhere here. I've got the exact coordinates somewhere in my quarters."

[Sin Vamel]

"Wow. That's a long way out." I state obviously, then after another quiet moment, I add: "I've never been out of the local regions before, well once when I was about two years old but apart from that I haven't ever gone any further than Corellia."

Occassionally, I glance across to Daen and every time I find him absorbed in his star charts and notes, the steely resolve in his eyes was a cause for concern. I am no Jedi but I know the look of revenge all too well and as much as I want to offer him advice about how the desire for revenge can often gobble you up whole, I know he wouldn't take to well to a lecture so I'll support him in other ways. Is that why I offered to go with him? I doubt I'm that sentimental.

"When do you want to go?"

[Daen C'allyx]

"When can you be ready?"

He glanced up again, pen tapping nervously on the table.