Nar Shaddaa - Rebel Alliance Headquarters

[Cassius Nero]

There is no emotion, there is peace. 

 

Cassius read the lines of the Jedi code over and over again as his ship made its way through the seemingly infinite blackness of space towards Nar Shaddaa. For the first time since he was a child he had left Felucia. A lifetime spent training was now finally beginning to pay off, or so it seemed, as he still had to prove that he was worthy of being a Jedi Padawan. It had been made very clear to him that just because he was given a chance to train under a Master, it did not mean he would be kept as a Padawan, and that he would have to prove that he was capable of earning the title. This was no different to him than his entire life had been up to this point. It was an uphill battle, one that had no end in sight, and yet he continued up that hill with a determination that was matched by no one. If he was the last living being in the Galaxy climbing that hill then so be it. 

 

There is no ignorance, there is knowledge. 

 

The holpad that held the words lit up the otherwise dim room. Alone, in the center, Cassius knelt staring only at the words of the code. The small transport ship was not designed to be luxury, and why would it be, the Jedi did not live in luxury. The room was like any other room on a ship. A small bed inserted into the wall, a closet that would currently sat empty as the only clothing he had were his brown robes, a white undershirt, and black pants and brown belt. The lighting flickered every now and then which made the blue light that came from his holopad stick out even more than it already did. The yellow dim of the room was, in its own way, calming.

 

There is no passion, there is serenity. 

 

No passion. This one line continued to trip him up. His mother and father, dead, just like that. For no other reason than the Sith embodied chaos. Death, destruction, to them a human life was nothing more than a blip. Thousands dead, but two meant more to Cassius than he cared to admit to anyone around him, as those two were the ones who had birthed him. Unfortunately, that was all they had done, as he had been taken from birth to be a Jedi. He often wondered what they were like. Did they miss him? Were the proud their son was a Jedi? Did they understand that he was, by all accounts, a disappointment by Jedi standards? 

 

There is no chaos, there is harmony. 

 

He tried to push the negative thoughts from his mind. He could not allow the negativity to seep into his essence. Not now, of all times, he had to remain steadfast. The death of his parents was crushing but he could not dwell. They were one with the force now, a fate that eventually all beings would succumb to, the natural way of life. One day he himself would return from where he came, the force, and all of that pain and shame he felt would mean nothing. In all honesty, the idea of it was almost romantic, the idea that there would be no more suffering for him. Pure serenity. 

 

There is no death, there is the force. 

 

The ship shook as the landing sequence was initiated and Cassius clicked off the holopad and slipped it into the pouch on his belt and he stood to his feet. He grabbed a small bag that held a few changes of clothing, but nothing else, and he made his way to the exit of the ship. On his way out he passed through a few droids who were ensuring the ship was running as it should. As he made his way out, a Cathar with bright yellow fur that was mixed with black, stepped out from the Captains cabin. He nodded at Cassius and Cassius nodded back. "Thank you for safe passage, it is not easy flying for the Jedi these days." Cassius bowed slightly to the Cathar who looked up and just stared at Cassius for a few moments. 

 

"I do what I can." He said casually as he continued on his way. 

 

Cassius stood still for a moment, somewhat sensing the conflict inside of the pilot, but he did not have control enough of the Force to be able to understand what any of it meant. That was his skill level. He could feel the force, he understood what he was feeling in the sense that he knew the Force was trying to speak to him, but understanding it on a level any deeper than that was well beyond his capabilities. But he did not need the aid of the Force to understand that these were dangerous times for anyone sympathetic to the Jedi Order. The Sith were powerful and hated anyone and everyone who had anything to do with the Rebel Alliance or the Jedi Order. All you needed to understand that was a basic understanding of Galactic Politics. 

 

As the doors to Nar Shaddaa opened, Cassius was overcome with emotions for only a moment, as the city came into view. Stepping off the ship he reached back into his pouch and pulled out an encrypted holopad. Using his fingerprint he viewed the coordinates he had been given. He was to meet his new Master at the location. He memorized the location and off he went. He pulled his hood up above his head and made his way through the streets. Tempting as it was, he did not stop to take in the sights, he had a mission. His first mission. He would not deviate from the path laid bare before him. 

 

Not long after leaving his ship he arrived at the designated meeting point, the Rebel Alliance Headquarters. Stopping outside of the entrance he looked it up and down. How long had he envisioned this moment? Joining the fight? Being something more than an errand boy. He was, finally, taking his first steps to becoming a Jedi. He stepped forward and on an intercom he announced himself. 

 

"Cassius Nero, I am expected I believe." 

[Cassius Nero]

Cassius awaited patiently for any type of response. His thoughts remaining focused on meeting his new Jedi Master, trying to ignore everything around him, but this proved to be quite the mishap. A voice, very close to him and with an odd accent, said his name. Cassius jerked his head around and was met with quite the imposing, and honestly given the circumstances, frightening man. A cybernetic eye, obviously focused solely on Cassius, scanned him up and down. The noises it made were unsettling but the way it moved made it even worse. Close by, a group of stormtroopers put him even at an even greater sense of unease. Five minutes was as long as he had been on this planet and already he was met with a situation that he had absolutely no idea how to respond to. 

 

"A world in chaos offers a lot of site seeing," Cassius immediately wondered why he had said that and why he had said it that way. Given the circumstances he should have been more frightened, but something inside of him told him to play it cool. Don't reveal too much and remain confident. That much had been drilled into his head all of his life. Fear lead to nothing but mistakes and he could not make a mistake, not now. "I also doubt the Empire has much interest in someone like me, and if so, they would be the first." He smiled politely and then glanced back at the stormtroopers that tagged along with him.

 

The political landscape of the galaxy was complicated. Way more complicated than Cassius dared get involved in. From his best estimate, this guy was part of the Remnant, an ally to the Rebel Alliance. Not what Cassius would consider his cup of tea, but an ally no less, but he still did not know who this man was and would not reveal anything more than he needed to. If things went south, well, Cassius was out of luck. His combat skills were on par with where they needed to be but he was not even the best hand to hand fighter of his age group. The way this man carried himself he definitely figured if it came down to it then Cassius would be on the losing end. 

 

"I am not here to cause any trouble," Cassius finally uttered as he realized that considering that violence may come to pass was only a self fulfilling prophecy he did not want to be part of. "I am sure someone here can vouch for me." He attempted to make himself as unthreatening as possible. He kept his hands clearly visible, he did not make any sudden movements, and he maintained eye contact with the man in front of him. He made sure not to appear nervous so that he did not get the wrong idea. They were, after all, on the same side so he needed to play ball with him. 

 

@Nikolai Kolchak

[Cassius Nero]

Every second that passed was more and more intense for Cassius. He was not sure the intentions of the man in front of him, and truth be told, his cybernetic eye was not helping the situation at all. Sure, the four stormtroopers behind him were scary and all, but the way that eye was scanning him was making him extremely uneasy. "The Empire appreciates it, eh?" Cassius felt that bravery welling up inside of him again. He knew that they were all working together but at the end of the day he served only one master and that was the Force. The Empire meant nothing to him, well that was a lie, it did in the sense that the people within the Empire deserved to be protected and to live peaceful and better lives. Both of which did not seem to be coming in droves here on Nar Shaddaa. 

 

He thought better of mouthing off even further to the man. Instead he focused on the next bit. The city was in evacuation and it was strange that he was coming into the city instead of leaving it. Probably made all the more suspicious by the fact that he had come straight to the Rebel Headquarters. Then he asked for papers and any sense of bravery Cassius may have had quickly drained out of him. He did not have anything to show that he belonged here. He glanced back over at the comm and wondered if they were ever going to speak up? It did not appear so. 

 

Think! 

 

"I came alone, on a ship that was able to get clearance to land, and came straight to this part of Nar Shaddaa," Oh lord, where was he going with this? He had to essentially come up with a good cover story on the fly. Well, it wasn't actually a cover story, what he was saying was all true. The context was definitely out of place, no doubt about that, but it was true. "Do a lot of people dress like me and get the same kind of clearance?" He was, of course, referring to his obvious Jedi Robes. It seemed pretty easy to tell that he was a Jedi, or on Jedi business, even though his age certainly would be a telling story. 

 

He also could not just outright tell him why he was there. Truth be told he was not sure what he was and was not allowed to say. He knew the Jedi were here but with how strict they were about who to talk to, who to not talk to, and where and when they could go to certain areas he had no reason to believe that they were not as strict here as they were back on Felucia. He did not want to give anything away to anyone who did not need to hear it. It was time for a gambit. 

 

"Listen, someone is going to meet me out here, and when they do they can vouch for my right to be here. How about you keep a real close eye on me until then? I won't move or do anything drastic. You can even detain me if you like?" He was betting on the Jedi sending someone to his location and hopefully clear the whole mess up. It was typical that his first time off of Felucia and he was being questioned right outside the HQ. 

[Cassius Nero]

Cassius felt immediate relief at the arrival of another member. Even more so when he realized that he had been panicking for no reason at all. But, he could not be too sure, and he would rather be safe than sorry. It also did not help that the man was extremely intimidating. "No issues at all," Cassius said to the pilot at her mention of how his flight went. He felt himself relaxing more and more by the second and it was not until his adrenaline was beginning to taper away that he realized how much of it had dumped into his system. "To be honest it is exciting to get off world for a change." That much was true, he had not left Felucia since.... well basically ever. He had been there since he was a child. 

 

Before he made his leave the Admiral commented on his secretiveness. "Best to keep things close to the chest when on a planet that is evacuating." Cassius smiled at the man and his comment. Overall he was glad with his exchange with the man even though it turned out to be nothing more than a formality. He had often wondered how he would stand up under scrutiny and even though he had blown it out of proportion in his mind he felt confident in his skills. "I will gladly give my regards on your behalf, Admiral." Cassius gave a slight bow to the man and his stormtroopers before he returned his attention to the pilot. 

 

"So, what now?"