Nar Shaddaa - Rebel Alliance Headquarters

[Aidan Darkfire]

The water felt excellent on his skin. It was an older refresher, but it still did its job well, sterilizing the young Imperial Knight's skin of the carbon and dirt accrued over the course of their lengthy mission. For a good chunk of it, Aidan didn't even know if they were coming back, and yet at the end of all things, here they were. He'd never really had a sense of accomplishment about doing anything major like this before, but even with the loss of the Vigilance, he felt like he'd learned a lot and come a long way.

 

Shirtless and still toweling off, he made his way to the cockpit to monitor their progress, reinvigorated a bit by the shower. He was still sore, the many cuts and nasty bruises on his skin clear testament to this fact, but he was alive. He checked the readouts, noting they were about twenty minutes out from Nar Shaddaa, before turning to Sandy.

"So this is the life of a Jedi, huh? Danger, heroics, not knowing if you're going to come home...It's a little different seeing it all from the other side of the coin."
 

Two minutes until the drop from hyperspace, then another fifteen or so to get landing permissions and navigate to a docking bay or landing pad. 

 

"Have you ever tried Zabraki food? Spicy, but still flavorful. We should get some when we get a chance. And I...I think I need to go find my shirt."

Not waiting for a response, he jumped up and left the cockpit, fully aware of what he'd said. It wasn't that he didn't care about Sandy to wait for her to talk, he was simply too burnt out over everything they accomplished to really bother caring about anything at the moment, to include his shirt. 

[Aidan Darkfire]

To say Aidan was impressed with the assembly was an understatement. It put into perspective all of their hard work, but if anything Aidan just wanted to sleep for a week. So for the time being, while he politely made small talk with those who approached him in the briefing room, he didn't go out of his way to engage with anyone, and quickly snuck out as things were obviously winding to a close.

Eventually, he found himself back in his assigned quarters. After taking another hour or so to type up and send a report to Imperial High Command (or what there was left of it) delineating what happened on the mission as well as Adenna's debrief, he quickly passed out on his bed. There was no Force trance, the young man was simply exhausted. Hopefully he'd find the time to rest before the next skirmish, but with the way things had gone, it wasn't likely.

[Aidan Darkfire]

Rousing from his sleep to a knock at the door, Aidan quickly made himself presentable. His senses told him there was a decently strong Force presence waiting for him, but he was groggy enough that he just assumed it was Sandy.

 

Yet when he opened the door, it took a full two seconds staring back and forth at Ismael before it connected with the younger man who exactly had knocked on his door. Immediately he knelt and bowed, showing respect. 

 

"Master, forgive me, I was not expecting you. It is an honor. What can I do for you?"

 

He stood, subtly trying to close the door behind him, not proud of the disheveled state of his room in front of one of the few Masters the Imperial Knights had in their ranks.

[Aidan Darkfire]

"...Sir?"

Aidan was at a slight loss of words, though the promotion was expected, he thought it was likely just going to come in the form of paperwork. A visit from one of the masters was absolutely unexpected. After it all kind of hit him, he took Ismael's hand, returning the firm handshake. 

"Thank you, sir, this is an honor. I swear on the Empress that the trust placed in me will not go to waste."
 

As the master nodded, turning to leave, Aidan had an afterthought.

"Wait...does this mean I'm being assigned an apprentice?"

[Aidan Darkfire]

A week of sleep. That sounded about right. It was a strange sensation Aidan felt as he watched Ismael walk away, he didn't feel any more powerful, and yet here he was a fully-fledged Imperial Knight. Slowly the realization of all his newfound extra responsibility hit him as he retreated back into his room, flopping on his bed. He would likely have an apprentice in the future, and frankly he wasn't sure he was ready for that. Was anyone who came before him ready?

 

Several minutes passed before he settled on the idea that some things simply are learned by doing. He had triumphed over himself, coming to accept and care for the man he'd grown up to be despite his emotional issues with his past. However, the question before him that he couldn't shake, even as he tried to sleep, was could he live with his failures if they irreconcilably affected others? What if his student, someone the Knights would entrust to him in the highest of faith, turned to the dark side?

 

Aidan had his own brushes with the darkness, and while he was aware it gave him perspective, he also knew better than others how easy it was in contrast to the hard path an Exorcist needed to walk. If he was overbearing and controlling, he would push the pupil away, likewise if he slacked in discipline and mentorship they might simply slide that way anyways out of resentment, as Aidan had. Was this what was meant by the 'crushing weight of responsibility'? Briefly he wondered if his father had thought about the same concerns, but shook the thought from his mind and attempted to drift to sleep. Eventually, he managed to quiet his thoughts enough to pass into unconsciousness.

Still, though he slept, rest would not find him easily.

[Aidan Darkfire]

It was like a gentle nudging, but on his mind rather than his shoulder. Aidan woke up slowly, but with a smile on his face. Gingerly he rose, making sure to put his shirt back on and straightening the rest of his casual clothing, then went to the door. Sandy was still sitting across from his room against the hallway wall, and she wasn't quite yet asleep. With a half cocked grin, he called out to her.

"Hey. Hey, lady. You can't sleep here, you see. It's not a bedroom."

He stifled a chuckle, attempting to maintain a semi-serious face, and failing terribly. After it was clear the joke landed, he scratched the back of his head, leaning against the doorframe.

 

"You, uh...want to grab some caf?"

[Aidan Darkfire]

While Sandy seemed to prefer her caf black, Aidan preferred his with a good bit of cream and sugar. At least, until he noticed they were out of cream and sugar. War rationing. Lovely. So he poured himself a cup of light roast, hoping the flavor wouldn't be too terrible, and sat down with her.

"I, uh...I slept. I keep having these vivid dreams. As far as I can tell, they're just dreams, not prophetic visions or anything, but sometimes they're good, and sometimes they're about the war. More and more lately, they've been about the war. Firefights I can't escape, dead bodies littering a battlefield, that sort of thing. I spoke to a doc about it once, they said it had something to do with stress and I should try to get away from the front lines for a bit. Unfortunately, that's not really how the galaxy works, right?"

Aidan took a long sip, the awkwardness of his answer hanging in the air between them. He didn't want her to feel bad for asking, so instead he changed the subject. He'd been waiting to tell her, anyways.

"So, uh...I got word from one of the masters in the Imperial Knights...I've been officially promoted." 

He tried to act rather blase and casual about it, but couldn't help himself from letting a slight grin slip.

[Aidan Darkfire]

There was a slight wince as Sandy mentioned an apprentice, but Aidan steeled himself. It was likely coming sooner or later, whether he liked it or not. It was simply the way of things.

"Honestly, I don't know if I'm ready for one, but I'm allowed to select my own before one is eventually assigned to me. I'm really not sure I'm ready for it, either. But hey, they made you a master, and you helped train both myself and Kel, so...maybe it won't be that bad, I guess. Speaking of, do you feel...different at all? I always kind of just expected to feel, I don't know...more powerful when I was made a full Knight. Instead I just feel like the same old Aidan. Frankly, it's a little scary, it feels like more responsibility without the internal reassurance to tell me I can handle it."

He decided to gloss over his dreams, as it was something he could handle later. He'd earlier found an interesting meditation on his father's holocron, and was already planning on trying it to help rid his dreams of nightmares and calm his inner mind. He wasn't perfect and he knew it, it was one of the reasons he was able to overcome the Sith poisons on the Eternal Vigilance: by embracing the truth that he was flawed and would need to start his true path from that perspective.

 

And then a message came in from Master Kyrie, with attached official documents marking him as the Imperial Knight's official ambassador to the Jedi. Maybe it was something to do with his heritage, but it was yet another responsibility on his plate that he would have to grin and bear with. He didn't think he was the most diplomatic person, but then again, he'd never really tried either. A slight pang of sadness rushed through him as he also realized that he wasn't able to see his Master for a bit longer, but this was the life they led. 

He brought his focus back to the present, addressing Sandy once more. "Apparently, I'm also now the Imperial Knight's ambassador to the Jedi. Why they didn't make one of the masters the ambassador, I can't fathom. Probably has something to do with my name. Gods, I might need to just up and change it...how does Arbuckle Finklehorn sound?" It was a bad joke, but he still allowed himself a dry chuckle.

Edited July 6, 2020 by Ary the Grey

[Aidan Darkfire]

"I have a feeling these side adventures would happen whether or not I was born a Darkfire. Some things just are how they are."

He took one last sip of his caf, looking long and hard at the cup. He didn't want this to end, the little slice of happiness he now shared with Sandy. She had been the one person who he felt most comfortable around, where he could lower his defenses and not worry about being attacked for who he was or his past or any of his other weak points. He could simply be himself around her, and it sucked that he always tended to realize it right before they tended to part ways.

"Also, while I'd love to come with you to Scarif, I'm still liable to get orders to go elsewhere. When we get some more free time, though...would you like to do that meditation with me I talked about earlier? I think someone there with me would really help, I don't know, brace me through the process? That sounds like kind of the right way to put it, I guess."

He stood from the table, looking around before focusing back on Sandy with a warm smile.

"I should go report in, though. With all the activity around this place chances are I already have orders waiting for me, and while I was given some time off, I'm sure they won't wait forever on me."

[Aidan Darkfire]

He took her hand, smiling warmly as he stared into her eyes.

"And also with you."

And then the moment passed, and the young Imperial Knight found himself walking the hallways of the base towards the nerve center of the Jedi command areas. It was high time he'd reported in. When he arrived, some of the more important brass seemed to be in a meeting, so he sat outside in the main operations area waiting for them to finish.

[Aidan Darkfire]

Aidan took the Brazen's hand, giving it a firm shake, not sure at first why introductions were necessary.

"Uh...Aidan. Nice to meet you."

And then the Grandmaster summoned them into the briefing room together, and it all made much more sense. The briefing itself was highly intriguing, as this missions was to be the first time Aidan felt he was finally going to hit the Sith where it hurt. It was a long time coming, too. As the time came for questions, Aidan quickly piped up.

"Are we going to have to improvise customs, or do we have backup plans like cargo smuggling crates? Maybe a bribe for a customs agent? Worse comes to worse I suppose we could impersonate some Sith, but I'd rather it didn't come down to that."

He felt it was a valid concern, as it was a choke point that could cause the whole plan to crumble before it got off the ground. If the fleet arrived and the goal wasn't accomplished, it could easily mean a lot of lives lost over nothing.

[Aidan Darkfire]

Aidan let out a nervous chuckle. "Well, all things considered, I feel like my own recent rank was earned a battlefield promotion of necessity. That being said, I understand the constraints and demands of this mission. If I'm taking point on the ground game here, we must be hurting for good leaders." He meant it as wry humor, but there was also a slight undertone of the stark reality of the situation. Aidan was clearly nervous over being given his own command, but after a brief pause he rallied himself and his confidence.

"Grandmaster, I have no further questions. I have a few ideas as to how to breach customs and accomplish objectives, but those can wait for a small briefing in hyperspace enroute to Serenno. And, Kashi, was it? If you're anything like the other Jedi I've worked with, I have no doubt you'll handle yourself just fine. Regardless of the risks here, we can't afford to not take risks anymore, the Sith have too large a stranglehold on critical nerve clusters of Galactic commerce and culture. Still...I promise I'm going to do my best here to make sure we all make it home alive."

Aidan bowed deeply in sincere reverence to the Grandmaster. "If that will be all, I need to gather my things and prepare. I will meet the team at the transport in one hour." 

The young Imperial Knight excused himself, making his way back to his quarters. While he didn't have time to meet with Sandy, he did send her a message.

 

Spoiler

"Uh, hey, it's me. Not sure if I should be using the honorific titles here...it feels kind of weird. I wanted to let you know that I wouldn't be able to do the meditation like we talked about in person, I got orders to go elsewhere. I probably shouldn't mention where, just for the sake of operational security, but I did want to have a long comm session where we meditate together, if that's still okay. I should have time enroute to do that at the least...and I really wanted to. Enclosed is the code to my room and instructions on how to access my dad's holocron and how to get to the meditation I was talking about. If you can't, I understand, we can catch up later.

I'll miss you.

- A

 

[Aidan Darkfire]

Aidan met the team exactly when he intended to, and with a final inventory and preflight check they were on their way. For a long time, Aidan was silent, distracted. Until they jumped to hyperspace he found his gaze transfixed on Nar Shaddaa, an unshakable feeling of leaving the most important things to him behind. It wasn't a familiar feeling, but rather than turning to introspection to examine why, he simply allowed himself to be lost in the moment. Though it lasted a while, to him it wasn't nearly long enough, despite the clear knowledge that it would be over before he knew it.

As stars slipped to starlines, he notified the crew that he would be meditating, and that a briefing would convene an hour prior to exiting hyperspace. Before retiring to the rear of the cargo bay, he put one crewman to task, modifying several shipping containers to hide their disassembled weapons as common looking parts. Lightsabers would become cooling tubes, blasters would become various other parts and accessories. Power packs would power actual cooling units and energized locks.

[Aidan Darkfire]

One of their assault shuttles had needed to drop to realspace to make emergency repairs to their life support systems, leaving two assault shuttles and a ragged fleet to turn up on the doorstep of Nar Shaddaa after several course-corrections to hide their true destination, not that it really mattered. Even though it was protocol, the Sith likely knew the Rebels had occupied Nar Shaddaa for some time now.

The shuttle carrying Aidan, Kashi, and Adenna made an emergency landing to a nearby hospital, securing emergency services for the comatose grandmaster. Aidan had tried to help as he could from what little he'd learned of Force healing from Sandy, but it didn't seem to be enough. Still, Adenna possibly could have died had Aidan not done anything, so it was still important in its own way.

Several hours later, Aidan found himself back at the main Rebel compound, debriefing to another Jedi Knight and an Imperial Knight. It wasn't long before the message of what happened at Serenno was sent out, disseminating through the various networks the Rebels and Jedi had. Normally, Serenno would simply be just another op that was marked need to know. But the Grandmaster's situation...predicated a much more involved response.

This was now over his head. For a long time, Aidan sat in his room, ruminating on what had happened, what had gone wrong, the people they had lost, the collateral damage of it all. After a while he fetched a datapad, and began typing.

 

Spoiler

 

"Dear Mr. Kurlsk,

 

Today I'm writing to notify you of an unfortunate tragedy that befell your son while in service to the Rebel Alliance...

 

 

Edited August 25, 2020 by Ary the Grey
Moar Wording

[Aidan Darkfire]

As the door to Aidan's room snaked open, Hassan was met by a ragged looking Aidan who had clearly not shaved or showered since he'd been back. Aidan still held a datapad in his hand, and bags under Aidan's eyes told Hassan that the young Imperial Knight hadn't slept either. There was no ceremony, no snap to attention and salute, but rather weary resignation and a meager comprehension of immediate events.

"Oh. Master...Hassan, right? Come on in. What can I do for you?"

Aidan beckoned the man into his living space, taking a seat once more at the table, either ignoring or oblivious to the mess of dishes and various notes and datapads he hadn't bothered to keep clean since he'd been back. His attention returned to his datapad, as if he barely registered the master's presence, though it was clear that it wasn't out of disrespect but more that he'd burnt out in the aftermath of everything.

On his bed across the room was a half-packed go bag, as if he expected another mission to kick off at a moment's notice. That was the mandate Grandmaster Alluyen had given them before Serenno, the plan to begin to retake territory and hit the Sith where they hurt. This was the time for all hands on deck, and it was do-or-die.

And Aidan wasn't willing to give up, even now.

[Aidan Darkfire]

Aidan was silent for a long noticeable moment after Hassan stopped talking. The Master could feel the tension in the Imperial Knight as Aidan wrestled with emotions he had once thought himself the master of. He was weary, truth be told. He was a soldier, and would obey his orders, this was the oath he had taken and the oath he would uphold, for what worth was a man who couldn't be trusted at his word? But here, now...the limits of his oath were seriously being tested. Aidan found his calm, or at the least silenced his thoughts, and took a sip of the tea Hassan had brought.

"Of course. My blade is ready...should the Order call upon it."

A lie, but one told in muted desperation. Aidan wanted to believe it true, that he was ready to walk out of his room right now and back to the front lines so others didn't have to. Others like the ones who had died on Serenno. And somehow, when those marching orders would eventually come, he would force himself to be ready. But his look and mental state screamed otherwise, even the mess of his own quarters and office looked rather obviously unbecoming of someone in his position. 

But what choice did he have? He had made an oath.

And Aidan would hold to it.

Edited September 13, 2020 by Ary the Grey

[Aidan Darkfire]

Sandy's transport jumped out of hyperspace a safe distance from Nar Shaddaa, Aidan's slaved shuttle following not far behind. From the copilot's chair, Aidan began maneuvering toward the pirate moon, already broadcasting IFF to hasten the landing procedures. In minutes they had reached the atmosphere, and short moments later they touched down in the Alliance hangar. As soon as it was safe, Aidan called out over his shoulder to Carson and Sandy.

"Alright, you're good to unstrap. Carson, I had an intake specialist sent to the hangar to help out with your integration into the Alliance, he should be waiting to meet us by the hangar entrance. You can stay with us until we find him if you like."

 

And with that, their excursion to Vernza-Torrah was finished. A scarred relationship and a man out of time was all they had to show for their success, but at least it was a success. Aidan didn't want to think about what could have happened if Sandy hadn't managed to see through what was happening to them.

[Aidan Darkfire]

((You're good man, and I am a bit slow myself admittedly, trying to remind myself that I need to be posting daily and getting back in that habit. Best way to poke us is send us PMs on the site. That sends an email to my phone that I see relatively quickly.))

"Uhm, I think they said Lieutenant Peterson? Preston? Something like that. He'll be easy to spot, their uniforms are always just too clean."

 

Carson was sure to pick up the extra meaning there as a fellow uniformed serviceman. No battle. But as Aidan stood, he felt a familiar presence approaching the ship, reaching out to them. Aidan reached back with a greeting of his own, but knew he'd soon be able to speak with the old tree. He was still weary, but managed a grin.

"I think there's someone waiting for us that might be a bit more entertaining to meet with first. That recruiter can wait a bit." 

Aidan led the trio out of the shuttle straight into the sight of a large Neti, a creature few beings had ever seen in their lives, evidenced by most of the hangar crew staring as they went about their jobs. "Frond! You're better! You have no idea how good it is to see you again, my friend. You know Sandy, and this is Carson, we...sort of rescued him from Vernzah-Torrah, but more accurately we just gave him a ride. He's here to join up with the cause." Aidan turned back to Carson, gesturing to the large tree-creature. "This is Frond, a Neti. If I remember right he was working with Master Tobias Vos, but I don't remember if he had decided to join the Order," Aidan looked back to Frond, "have you?"

[Aidan Darkfire]

((Hey, if it's gotta be a short post it's fine don't apologize, but definitely when it comes time to do stuff especially like training try to get descriptive, but dialogue situations it can be understandable. If anything, try to aim for 4-5 sentences of description in the post (not dialogue), like either his surroundings, the sensations (his sight, smell, etc.), his thoughts, things like that.

Also, the intake officer will either be an Non-Player Character (NPC) played by myself or one of the Non-Force users (NFUs) of the Alliance.))

 

"Oh, I see. That seriously sucks...I'm assuming since you built one once, you can build another? We probably can easily find the parts around here..."

 

And even if Frond didn't, Aidan would happily let him borrow his dad's holocron to access the information. For whatever reason Frond always filled Aidan with a sense of awe, that such an ancient, abstract creature could even exist. The much younger Imperial Knight knew he could spend hours picking Frond's brain and debating the finer points of the Force's unknowns, likely learning things and seeing perspectives neither the Jedi or Sith would ever offer him. But they did have an agenda, they had things to do, and it would have to wait until later if he even got the opportunity.

 

"Of course, we need to find the intake officer waiting outside the hangar for Carson here first; while I don't mind being fashionably late for recruiters, I also don't want to come off as excessively rude. But, you're welcome to come with and afterward we can take a look at that saber. Up to you."

Aidan decided he'd give Frond the opportunity to join them, but either way he still needed to deliver Carson.

[Aidan Darkfire]

((It's a good improvement! Most of us learned to write by literally observing each other and reading, the more you're exposed to reading and writing, the better you get, it just takes practice and time. If you enjoy it, don't quit! We don't care about skill here, we care about passion, brother, and it really makes me happy to see yours. Also this was meant to be up several hours ago, but homework this weekend is pretty crazy, I'm trying my best to ensure that I still have ample and active time for this.))

 

The group was approached by an Alliance officer who looked like he belonged on a poster, crisp uniform and razor close shave, datapad under one arm and an almost plastered smile that looked like it was hiding a mildly annoyed look on his face. He quickly snapped a quick salute to Sandy, before turning to Aidan. "Carson, right? I hear you're interested in our cause." Aidan pointed the officer towards Carson, while simultaneously pulling his bag strap to the side to display his rank. "Ah, apologies. Carson...Lurg is it? Lieutenant Donald Purifoy. Walk with me back to my office and we can get you all squared away. Don't worry, I'm going to make sure you'll be just fine." The lieutenant gestured, expecting Carson to follow.

 

As they left earshot of the group, Purifoy spoke up. "So, just curious, but that's rather conspicuous armor. There a story behind that?" ((Feel free to summarize if you like, and you're also welcome to have them arrive at his office in your post, the hangar is connected to the main headquarters so it's just going to be hallways ending in a cramped office.))

 

Aidan watched the two leave, eyeing Purifoy the entire time. He didn't trust recruiters, but there was something different about him Aidan couldn't quite put his finger on. It wasn't bad, which was surprising given his mistrust, but it was…different. Aidan turned back to Frond, a grin returning to his face. "You know, my dad left me a holocron that showed me how to build my saber. It had some interesting information on it, I'm sure it'd be useful. Would you like to-"

[Aidan Darkfire]

((NPC actions for Moff Lurg))

 

Lieutenant Purifoy shot Carson a wry grin across the desk they were both seated at. "Well, now is when we go over paperwork and the like. Job selection, that sort of thing. We'll also run you against some easy and painless background checks to make sure you're not a spy or something, but that's just routine stuff, it's not like the Sith have actively tried to do that against us. They're more interested in brute force, it seems, and all the luckier for us, right? A smart brain wins a fight any day."

 

Purifoy slid the datapad to Carson to enter his information on, mostly standard biometric data, but there was also a conspicuous question near the bottom: Have you at any time ever been a member of the Empire, Sith Empire, Black Sun, or are otherwise wanted on felony charges in the galactic proper? If so, please explain:

 

Meanwhile, the lieutenant turned to his holonet interface, pulling up relevant forms from the Alliance database that covered what kinds of jobs were available.

Edited October 12, 2021 by Aidan Darkfire

[Aidan Darkfire]

((NPC actions for Moff Lurg))

 

Purifoy's eyebrows slowly raised as he began reading down the sheet, wordlessly plugging a lot of information into his holonet terminal. Eventually he spoke, but his focus or gaze didn't leave the terminal.

"You know, I was prior Empire. Before the Sith took over. We worked with them, sure, and I think the idea was to use their power to accomplish things the military alone couldn't, but...yeah. Those were...those were dark times. It took losing my brother and his family for me to see that, but at least I came around to my senses eventually, I suppose. But...I get it."

His voice was different, softer, lower, almost as if he didn't want to even acknowledge what he was saying. "Okay, so your service record isn't associated with our known war crimes list, which means you're okay in our book." More keystrokes. "And...heavy infantry. You're in luck, they have a new training window coming up tomorrow for the next batch of recruits. Okaaaay..."

 

After a few more moments, Purifoy grabbed a datapad from a nearby stack and reached into a box at his feet to pull out an interesting device. "Right. This datapad has all the information you'll need to meet up with the training group at its muster time tomorrow, to include a list of gear you're expected to bring. And this other thing here is a holocomm, some newer device that pretty much is a mobile holonet access point and a comlink. Keep that on you in case we need to reach you for any reason. The only thing you have left is to visit the armory for your gear, just make sure you use the proper entrance labelled 'Armory, initial issuing', they get testy if you try to use the main entrance and you don't know what you're doing. You're assigned to bay 37 in the barracks, which is in the new annex wing, and you may even have the whole five-man room to yourself initially as we're still in the process of filling those."

 

Purifoy stood up, concern on his face, but not over Carson, rather for Carson. He didn't want anything bad to happen to the guy on his first day, especially given his past and how likely it was to be a sore spot for others who found out. "Also, I'd recommend losing that armor sooner rather than later, and if asked just say you were working undercover. Any questions?"

[Aidan Darkfire]

Aidan snapped awake from his daydream, quickly recognizing his surroundings. He had been released from custody some time ago but his warden really, really wanted to read him some of their poetry. Or at least that's all Aidan remembered, his memory was foggy. Had he been...drugged? The thought horrified him, but then again he remembered that it was standard practice for holding Force sensitives. The Imperial Knights just hadn't been known for taking prisoners, so it wasn't really a procedure anyone would remember right away.

 

In front of him was a tray with snacks. Gingerly Aidan reached out, snatching up some meat and cheese, knowing full well that somehow he was probably still in trouble with people. After all, his actions had led to their time wasted...Aidan politely cut his jailer off, thanking them for the food and the poetry before briskly getting up and leaving. After claiming his effects, he sent a message to Sandy via comlink, and began to try to find his way back to the base proper.

[Aidan Darkfire]

Aidan felt her mind touch his, a refreshing feeling after being exposed to ysalamiri. He didn't quite know where he was, but reaching out with his own senses he used Sandy as an anchor to at least orient himself to her. He was confused when he realized she was mostly below him by several stories, but he knew she had more than enough time to explain ...just like Aidan also had.

 

And boy would he need to explain some things.

 

Putting that inevitability out of his mind, he set about getting to her, something that might prove to be an interesting challenge as he wasn't sure the stair access went all the way down there.

((Getting the ball rolling, setting up for a Misal post if wanted, or a Sandy continuance if not, whoever replies can assume me showing up at their leisure or I can do it in my next post.))

[Aidan Darkfire]

There was the briefest flicker of hesitation from Aidan as Sandy's telepathic message reached him, he hadn't felt his grandmother's presence at all. Then again, she was always good at that, and especially from hiding herself from him. Still, he picked up the pace, Misal was the one singular person Aidan was still relatively terrified of disappointing. In just a few short moments, Aidan rounded a corner after descending a final flight of stairs to see them both not too far away down a hallway. This far down into Nar Shaddaa's sublevels the passageways seemed to be mostly abandoned, and the last three floors Aidan had passed through all had intermittent lighting as if one of the major power connections had gone bad. Sheepishly he raised a hand at them in greeting, starting into a half-baked placation excuse Misal knew all too well from back when he was still her ward.

 

"Hey, you two look about ready for war, should I be concer-"

 

Suddenly his danger senses flared as something chitinous and skittering lunged at him from the shadows of an adjacent hallway, and the young Imperial Knight barely had the reflexes to dodge out of the way. His lightsaber was in his hand in an instant and ignited just as quickly, the bright silver blade casting horrific shadows behind the creature. Aidan leaned into the Force's flow as he called out once more to the two women, a slight hint of irritation in his voice as he spoke over clattering exoskeleton footfalls that were rapidly increasing in volume.

 

"Friends of yours?"

[Aidan Darkfire]

A quick swipe of his saber and the dog-sized insectoid thing was quickly no longer a threat. Aidan deactivated his blade, sensing a much larger threat below now no longer present, no doubt the work of Misal, who seemed to be irritated that he'd found them? Aidan couldn't pretend to understand his grandmother; the woman was an enigma. But right now especially he knew it was likely better to simply not ask questions. Quickly he flashed Sandy his best I'm sorry look and followed them into the shaft.

 

There would be time for questions later.

[Aidan Darkfire]

Mild irritation at the tight space gave way to mild panic at Misal's outburst, followed by Sandy's command. He even tapped into the Force to sustain himself as his muscles began to burn under the strain, but in moments they were out of the shaft. Aidan did his best to control his emotions, but deep down beneath the mental conditioning there was an alarm ringing like a fog horn in mist. He was certainly not used to seeing his grandmother like this, and it was all he could do to not allow the anxiety to consume him in the moment. And as it stood, Sandy had the best and most pertinent question and Aidan didn't want to risk his voice cracking.

 

So he simply stayed silent, waiting for Misal's answer.

[Aidan Darkfire]

"... enraged ..."

 

Aidan snapped from his shock at the word, though it still took a few more seconds for him to process everything.

 

"Whoah. Whoah, hold up. Gramma, I have never been enraged at you. Frustrated at a lack of privacy at times, sure, but I want to make it clear how much of a positive impact you've had on me. I never would have been brave without you. I knew you were always watching me, and I'm pretty sure you knew that at times too. I ran away to the space lanes because I knew if anything bad happened, something worse was waiting for it in the shadows. I'm the man I am today in a large part because of you. I may have learned a lot of my lessons the hard way, but I'd say I still turned out pretty okay, and I like who I am."

He moved to help Sandy, and to help physically brace Misal, if necessary. The datapad was swiftly tucked away, right now it was the last thing on Aidan's mind. It could be addressed later, ...accessed later. Aidan was curious about this Vorsha character. But first, Misal.

 

"Besides, it almost would be weird at this point to not expect it. I know you only have my best interests at heart. I've thought of you as my personal guardian angel for quite a while, gramma."

[Aidan Darkfire]

Her words meant a lot to him, but he was still working on believing them himself. "Well, there's no need to beat yourself up over nothing is all. Our lives have been rough, every single member of our family. Adding onto that pile can lead to some very dark places." His thoughts instinctively locked into a mental blocking pattern as he knew he wouldn't be able to help thinking about his past struggles with the dark. But again, that was just something else she didn't need on her plate. "Let's go home." His mind did brush Misal's intentionally for a moment, implanting a long overdue thank you...for all the crazy shit you do for me.

[Aidan Darkfire]

Aidan respected Sandy's command of the Force, but as attuned as he was to her he could mostly tell what she was doing just by the feeling. Tricking minds by making them all actively not want to recognize something without giving the effect away obviously was a monumental feat of finesse and willpower. He'd never really measured himself against her before. When she made master he'd subconsciously brushed it off as several others had done as it being a promotion of necessity rather than skill. For some reason Aidan wanted to hold on to the hope of the idea that they were equals; but now? This kind of skill was beyond him, and he knew it. Though he buried them deep, new thoughts were sown inside his mind: fear and awe over her rapid progression in her skill with the Force, and curiosity and mild fear of the unknown over what it meant as it related and reflected back onto him.

 

So to get his mind off things, he instead started talking to his grandmother. "Gramma … I may have lied a bit back there. The truth is, I'm not a hundred percent sure if I like who I am. I'm also still not sure of who I want to be, even though I really feel like I should by now. I've made mistakes, and I don't know if some of them will simply permanently hang over me forever from now on. Mom's probably still going to be a bit pissed at me for even getting into this situation when we get back, not to mention that she may have had to throw around political threats, and you know how she loathes politics." He shifted the topic a bit at the end, away from himself and his last few grains of uncertainty over himself.

 

"But the truth is, I do like who I am now and where I am. And I also fully acknowledge, again, all the people who got me here." This time his gaze shifted slightly to Sandy, who was still focused on her use of the Force. "I guess...I just don't want you to regret any hard choices I know you've made. I heard that in your voice back there. One of the only things that still keeps me going despite intimately knowing my flaws is knowing that I still matter flaws and all to a lot of people, and without those flaws I would be a completely different person. It's still so hard for me to accept that as a part of myself, but if I don't, then the darkness takes me and it all winds up being for nothing anyway. I know I want my life to matter; yours already did whether you can see it in each and every little crack and crevice or not."

 

There was a brief pause as Aidan processed what he'd just said and made a quick realization. "And, uhh, I'm not trying to be condescending or anything, I know you're a full blood Miraluka so maybe you had some Force training and have already heard this and..." Another brief pause, before a large exhale. "You know what? I'm probably just overthinking all this." And with that, Aidan stopped talking, focusing more on helping Misal navigate the rougher terrain.