Blades Crossing

[Farren Sefu]

Farren chuckled as Aayla swatted him and told her story. "So. You think I'm dashing? And yes, I imagine those crates will be missed. T-7 rifles are sure to leave a lasting impression. This wasn't supposed to go down like this, though. When I dispatched the crew of that ship, I couldn't have predicted they'd collapse on the weapons controls and give away our position. But we got out of there, and may have made a new friend."

With that last comment, Farren turned to Jaren. "You are a friend, are you not? Flying around in your own ship is a risky move. I'd just as soon wave my lightsaber around in the market. I'm amazed you haven't been identified. As for the girl, that's what happens when you show up unannounced, flying an Imperial ship. I thought my cover had been blown. And she came at a time sensitive moment. I couldnt' afford to miss that window. She made it out alright, though. Didn't you?" Farren replied, still smirking at Aayla as he spoke the last line. When Jaren mentioned training Aayla, Farren's face dropped. "I hadn't thought about it much. I'd surely teach her to control her impulses, I think. But beyond that...." His voice trailed off. When he focused again, he looked at Aayla intently. "What do you think? Would you like to really stick it to the Empire and learn to be a true Jedi?"

[Aayla Etel'dalam]

Aayla remained quiet, even though her mind raced. ”I’m already wanted?...That was quick.” But Jaren sparked a kind of happiness in her - well, she wasn’t sure if she would call it that. It felt like a kind of calling - talking about her training... or at the very least, not letting her wander through the darkness on her own and fending for herself.

She stared at Farren intently. “T-7... Do you even know what those can do? No one should have those. Those disable ships - do you know what they do to people? And I mean that - people. It hits multiple people at once, tearing them apart piece by piece... why the Hell do you want one, let alone a whole damn crate full of them?!” She sat up, obviously uncomfortable. Looking between the two men before her, she sighed.

“I wouldn’t call this ‘alright’. I wouldn’t even call this ‘okay’. But there’s no such thing as a ‘true Jedi’ anymore, is there? Maybe between the two of you, I’ll become a recognizable Jedi,” she murmured, looking at her hands. She looked up at Farren then. “But I want to try. Yes. Because my plan to stick it to the Empire clearly didn’t work out.”

[Jaren Rouhell]

"Well that settles that." Jaren said. " The Jedi have always been symbols of hope throughout the galaxy, and what better way to stick it to the Empire than to continue that tradition?" Jaren's excitement over the idea of being a thorn in the Empires side overwhelming. They had taken so much from him, that the very thought of taking any little bit back was enough to get him ready for anything. He looked to Farren, responding to his question of friend or foe, " I'm a friend to any and all enemies of the empire. As for flying in there, I'd rather like to think of it as a calculated risk." Jaren laughed. "From my point of view, you were the one taking more of a risk." He said

"Stolen T-7's will undoubtedly be missed. Gotta love how the Empire likes outlawing certain weapons, and then turns around and uses them." Jaren said as he spat on the ground. " Now that's a mark of a true tyranny 'Do as I say not as I do'." He scowled. Jaren then asked, " So, where do we start?" He was eager to start bringing the heat to the Empire, perhaps a little too eager. It had been so long since he had real companions, people that he felt he could trust. He looked to Farren to hear what his plan was. 

[Farren Sefu]

"Excellent!" Farren said, clapping his hands together. "First things first. We need to get you stop throwing stuff around willy-nilly. You need to learn to focus. Take the day and rest. We have no rush and no missions. We can relax for a bit and let your leg heal fully. Tomorrow, the work begins. As for the weapons," Farren said, taking a step back and looking at both his companions in turn as he spoke, "it's not that I have a desire to possess them. I'd just prefer that the Empire didn't. Make sense? I don't plan on running around with these things destroying ship yards or taking on a fleet head on. That a sure fire way to get myself and a lot of other people killed. I planned on either disposing of them, or selling them to a contact of mine who will pay top dollar and ensure they stay out of Imperial hands. That crate held 6 of them, so I wouldn't even know what to do with all that fire power."

Farren sat back on a large crate and relaxed a bit. "The outlaw of those weapons hasn't officially happened yet, but they have been discussing it, from what my sources tell me." Farren could sense the excitement in Jaren and it was clear that he was chomping at the bit to get into a battle of some kind. "You, Jaren, lack patience. Perhaps Aayla here isn't the only one who needs to be trained up a bit, eh? We will deal with the Empire when we are able to and not a minute sooner. We can't rush off half cocked, or they'll have three more lightsabers to hang on their wall, agreed? I sense much anger in you and you have to get it under control before it causes you to do something stupid. I'm too tired to do anything tonight, though. We could all use a good nights rest. Any questions?" Farren put his hands behind his head and looked around.

[Aayla Etel'dalam]

”Oh, I won’t use them, but I’ll sell them to someone who will! ... Moron,” she scowled but sighed. “They should be outlawed. No one should have them. No one. For any purpose.” She tried to settle herself more, and get more comfortable. “And for the record, I haven’t thrown anything since I threw those people so - think I’m doing pretty good.” She looked at Farren then, almost studying him. He seemed to be making himself their unofficial leader and she didn’t mind for right now. He seemed to have the most information, so she had no choice but to listen to him. As long as she got what she needed and didn’t kill herself in the process - she was fine with whatever these Jedi had to offer.



“But let’s get this straight - I’m not becoming a Jedi to do any more bandit raids or any more all out, high flying battles. The point of a Jedi is peace keeping. And you two are the least peaceful people - let alone Jedi - I’ve ever met.” She pulled what remained of her jacket around her, still singed with blaster holes and spattered with soot and blood. “One question then, I guess... How do we start? As in - I don’t have the slightest idea of how any of this works. I guess - I just want to know how to mentally prepare for this.”

[Jaren Rouhell]

" You sound like my master." Jaren said in response to Farren's  assertion. " I will work on it." Jaren said with a sigh. He realized that no longer being a lone wolf meant his actions now had more weight and consequences that could affect his companions. He also remembered that he was still a padawan and that his training was never finished. " I definitely am looking forward to some rest though, especially after a day like this." He said chuckling.

Jaren sat down on the ground and leaned his head back against the wall behind him. He then listened to Aayla voice her concerns. " We are peace keepers, but sometimes violence is a necessary evil. " He said. " My suggestion to prepare, get rid of any preconceived ideas you may have of how to use the force or how to wield a lightsaber , you'll run into less disappointment and unneeded struggles that way. " Jaren was speaking from experience, when he was youngling, he had many ideas as to how one used the force, and they all were wrong. He counted himself lucky for having such a patient master. Jaren closed his eyes and crossed his arms infront of himself and listened to see what anyone else had to say.

[Farren Sefu]

"Your master sounds like a wise teacher, then. I wish the Force guides him wherever he may be now." Farren said to Jaren. Turning back to Aayla, he added to a comment from Jaren. "He's right, you know. The Jedi used to be peacekeepers. We were once 10,000 strong and were essentially a galactic police force and emissaries. But now, with the fall of our Order and the rise of the Empire, we do what we must to survive. When I was a Padawan, I almost never had to draw my lightsaber, using it maybe 5 times in just as many years. However, after my Knighting, and the start of the Clone Wars, I took my place alongside my former master and fellow Jedi, and led the clones into battle. I slaughtered thousands of droids, but I never killed a living being unless absolutely necessary. Even now, I try my best not to kill, like with those troopers on the transport we robbed. I could have easily cut them down and they would have been none the wiser. But it has its drawbacks. These days, my body count has risen, but even still I strive not to kill unless it's the best call for the mission. The point is, everything you know about the Jedi is almost useless now. We must strive our own path and maybe rebuild the Order with what we've learned. These are violent times, and sometimes we will be forced to defend ourselves."

Farren stood once more and walked to a doorway that led to a hall. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use a good meal and some sleep. Who's with me?"

[Aayla Etel'dalam]

She scoffed, almost half asleep - either that, or close to purely passing out from the adrenaline wearing down within her. “You act as if I didn’t take classes at the Imperial Academy about Jedi. I do know some things, you know. And I doubt it’s all useless,” she muttered, crossing her arms. “Thanks for the advice though. I’m sure I’ll need it... Though, I’m almost 90% positive that wielding a saber would be equivalent to wielding and almost sentient stick. I’m interested mostly in the crystals. I know the colors have status, but not what the statuses are or what they mean. Other than red means you’re ‘bad’ and any other color is better than that... And that if we killed someone, we were to take them and turn them in.”

She watched Jaren slide down the wall, and then turned to Farren. “You’re lucky, you know? I .. My body count is higher than I ever thought it would be. Even now. As a child, I would cry if I had to kill a bug. Now - I can blow up an enemy ship and not bat an eye at how many people were on that ship that won’t return to their loved ones.” She tilted her head up a little, her eyes following a crack in the ceiling. “I would love some food... You have that in this abandoned hole in the ground?”

[Jaren Rouhell]

Jaren listened, and thought about the night his master was killed. The body count from that night alone was in the double digits, and after a year on Tatooine as a mercenary hasn't helped that. He then snapped out of his train of thought as soon as Farren mentioned food and sleep. " Count me in on that ! " He said, looking forward to some food and sleep. He then turned his attention to Aayla's remarks. " Yeah, but a stick won't slice off a limb if you slip up. A lightsaber will." Jaren scoffed. " You are right about the crystals though, the color they take is indicative of it's wielder. " He said as he got up off the ground and started to follow Farren to what he was assuming was the former mess hall.

[Farren Sefu]

Farren walked further up the hall and into what was indeed a mess hall. It was very dusty and dirty, but otherwise was in pretty good condition. Not too cluttered and the food prep area was the cleanest spot in the room. "Yes, Stubs, I do have food in this place. Believe it or not, I do leave to go...let's call it 'shopping'. I have the best frozen bantha this side of the Nexus Route. I also have fruits and some drink around here somewhere. Everything is in the pantry. Help yourself. I was stockpiled for doomsday, so I have enough for everyone. Just have to resupply sooner, is all. There are cots in the room we're in, and there is a barracks down one of these halls if you want a cushier mattress. We can start really training you tomorrow. There's no real way to prepare. Every mind is different and how we use the Force varies as a result. Jaren, I'm sure there are some things you would like to improve on as well? Feel free to sit in on some lessons if you want. I know I'm not your master, but I can try to be your friend." He leaned against the door frame and folded his arms, watching the pair.

[Aayla Etel'dalam]

She waited wide eyed - expectant, even. But when she realized the two dolts had walked away without helping her, she rolled her eyes. “Wow, thanks, guys,” she huffed, carefully lowering herself to the ground. Wincing, she slowly limped after them, leaning every now and then on the wall. ”Men and their stomachs,” she thought, sliding down the wall. She watched them round the corner into the mess hall, thinking she’d catch up with them in a minute. “I’m eager to learn... Master? Is that what I call you know? I don’t know how thi-this works, but I’m willing to give it all I’ve got... after you feed me. I’m so hungry.”

She listened to them carefully though, studying her hands as if that would give her any sort of clue. She figured the only way she could prepare would be to eliminate any thoughts she had about Jedi up until this point and accept that her plan hadn’t worked out the way she had wanted it to. A new start. A new way to fight back. And hopefully a better one.

[Jaren Rouhell]

" I might need to brush up on a thing or two." Jaren said to Farren. He walked over to the pantry and swung open the refrigerator grabbed a jug of bantha milk, a slab of frozen steak and started to cook it up. He smelled the cooking meat and chuckled to himself, " I missed this. Not having to worry about the thugs eyeing me down at the bar, the hooded figure following me to my camp. For the first time in a long time I can take it easy, dare I say even let my guard down." He plated his meal and poured himself a glass of the bantha milk.

He sat down at one of the tables, took his cloak off ( which he was still wearing from when he first arrived ) and set it beside him and started to dig in. As he ate he thought about how insane all of this was. " To think that a little over a year ago I was fighting alongside the same people now hunting me down, they were my friends, people I thought I could trust." He felt that same anger in his stomach he felt when his master was murdered, but this time was different, he actually tried to release it peacefully. He took a deep breath in, looked to his new friends and thought about his promise to his master " I won't fail you again ", then exhaled. The flame was gone, but there were some embers left.

[Farren Sefu]

Farren suddenly realized that Aayla was still in poor shape to walk, but was impressed that she was trying to catch up. Quickly, he reached out and levitated her off the floor, down the hall, and set her down at a table. "See?" He chuckled, clearly embarrassed, "You managed to catch us. You're getting better already. Here." Farren walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out some fruit and pile of cut meat. He warmed the meat and ran the fruit under a sink tap. "Here you go. Chopped nuna and a meiloonrun. I hope you like it." He visibly twitched at being called "Master" and then sighed. "I don't know if I'm worthy of that title, since this isn't exactly official. You can just call me Farren if 'Master' gets uncomfortable. Either way, I want to be a good teacher. I refuse to let the Jedi die like this. Now then, once everyone has eaten their fill, I suggest a good night's sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day." Farren served himself and ate, in silence if no one else spoke to him, but he would speak if addressed. When he was finished, he hovered near Aayla in case she needed help moving to a bed.

[Aayla Etel'dalam]

“WHOA!” Aayla hugged herself tightly as she was levitated down the hall. She shot Farren a look as she was seated, grumbling. “Nice attempt at a save there, Master,” she hissed before looking at the table, observing the food that was put out. “You say you don’t want the Jedi way to die, but you want to let go of the first part of the tradition. I’ll call you ‘master’ until you aren’t my Master anymore.”

She sighed, poking at the food a little before eating some. And by then, her appetite got the better of her - and she ate everything Farren had put in front of her. She hoped that by tomorrow, the fear within her will have subsided and given way to hope, strength, and diligence. She wanted to learn. She needed to learn. After finishing her food, she sat back a little, watching Jaren. She figured she’d save her questions for the next morning. Yawning, she turned back to Farren. “Where am I sleeping?”

[Jaren Rouhell]

Jaren finished his plate while watching the master and apprentice interact, laughing at the dynamic between them. He brought whatever dishes he had made to the kitchen and cleaned them. " I'll be in the barracks having the best sleep I've had in months." He said to them, and then headed down to the barracks, ready to get some much needed rest.