Padawan Lost

[out_of_order]

WHO: Cal Kestis, BD-1 and you! OTA
WHERE: Temba and beyond..?
WHAT: Lost padawan trying to get his bearings by keeping busy.
WHEN: Start of Feb. Event
WARNINGS: Jedi: Fallen Order spoilers? (If you'd rather I keep it vague, let me know in comment)
OTHER: I dunno if anything will come up, but just an obligatory head's up, please see Cal's permissions, particularly regarding his psychometry skill.


"The obstacles in your path define the path. What stands in the way becomes the way."

His master's words echoed in his mind, but Cal wouldn't let his thoughts delve any deeper than that, shaking his head as though to physically disperse them. Ever since he'd woken up in this strange, empty place, he'd felt just as lost as he had five years ago, back when things just suddenly changed.

And now he was back at square one again, without a lightsaber, without a direction. Well maybe not necessarily lacking in direction. He was still puzzling over the information overload. Where did one even begin with something like that? How did you find a path when you weren't even sure exactly what the obstacle was?

The electronic hoot in his ear had the padawan turn his head to glance at the little droid perched behind him, his head peering over his shoulder. Even Cal had to smile at that. At least he wasn't alone this time. Thank the Force for small favors.

"...so what do you think, BeeDee?" he asked as they wandered. For now it seemed prudent to follow what passed for streets, and every now and then the little droid would scan things here and there to compile into a map. BD-1 offered beeps of concern, and Cal really couldn't fault him. "Yeah... Not sure I like this either. Something doesn't feel right."

Flickers of movement, visions? Echoes? The would-be Jedi wasn't quite sure what he was seeing, or what he thought he'd seen. BD-1 didn't seem to register anything unusual at all, although in the distance, something however did draw the exploration droid's attention. Were those...ships entering the atmosphere?

The two exchanged a look, and without further encouragement, Cal started in the direction of what he assumed was a landing pad.

((OOC: Interactions don't have to happen directly after ships land, I just wanted to establish a set-up for the kid. So if you're about because you'd rather not tackle the storm or whatnot, cool! Cal will be heading out to investigate stormnanigans as well, but I'll wait to get to that bridge before crossing it.))

Comments

[kallig]

Life was so rarely ever quiet. That had been the truth, then and now.

He should have been used to it. Should have been able to respond to this sort of situation with stoicism, or at least weary resignation that his life would never, ever be calm, and when it was, it never ever lasted for more than a second or two.

Despite all this, the danger ahead had him unsettled.

Unsettled, yet sure of what he had to do.

The second the ships touched down, he'd bolted toward where he knew the medical data point was- he was no healer. A Sith couldn't be trusted to have a pleasant bedside manner. But it was what everyone needed. It was what he needed.

The Force aided him in his rush, a white blur of movement, though as he sensed the familiar presence of a Force-sensitive ahead, he came to a halt- far enough away that he'd have time to raise his defenses, if necessary, dropping RE-1 that he'd picked up before running off onto the ground. The droid beeped and hopped, then, noting the presence of a similar droid, hopped closer- only to be tugged back with the Force, "RE-1, stay."

Despite his rush, despite well, everything- "Jedi. New arrival, I assume?"

The meeting between a Sith and a Jedi tended to be tense. This was probably less so, if only because Altair couldn't muster up an ounce of hostility toward the other man.

[out_of_order]

The fact that there were ships was something of a relief. Cal hadn't even gotten within view of the hangars when he felt the first brush of life that wasn't of possible local fauna. There was something more to this presence as well, and it was fast approaching.

He slowed, BD-1 beeping in question before it became apparent that they had company. If there had been any doubts before, seeing and feeling as the blue-skinned stranger manipulated the Force around his droid was enough of a confirmation. Cal tensed, his right hand moving slightly at his side before pausing as he remembered the lack of anything hanging there.

"...you're a Force wielder," he said carefully, feeling no need for it to be phrased as a question. Over his shoulder his little exploration unit peered curiously at the two, head tilting as it tweedled a greeting at the other droid.

Cal meanwhile gave a brief nod in response to the man's question. "Probably pretty obvious," he shrugged. "Doesn't seem like there's a whole lot of people in this place." Even if the ships that were arriving were full, it was still a small number for a settlement.

[kallig]

"I am," He confirmed, though it really wasn't necessary.

He had sensed that movement too- grasping for a lightsaber that wasn't there. His own was slung over his shoulder, though he made no move for it. Chances were that this Jedi wasn't from his own time, as the Agrii seemed to favor people from a different point in time from his. A Jedi from his own time would have already attacked.

A Jedi from his own time would have immediately recognized that he was Sith.

RE-1 seemed perfectly unconcerned about all of this, chirping a greeting at BD-1, though made no move to approach as he'd already been tugged back once. Altair tilted his head toward his droid, wondering if he even understood the other- after all, they were so far apart in time that even droid-speak had to have evolved.

He tilted his head back toward the Jedi then, "Indeed, there is not. And people seem to come and go, too. Not by their own will, of course."

With no rhyme or reason. He really, really didn't like that, but there wasn't much even he could do.

"It is why we're all playing nice. We'll accomplish more getting along than we will by fighting."

It was his way of saying he meant no harm. And his way of asking the Jedi to play by the same rules. He would really much prefer staying civil.

[out_of_order]

Cal lifted his hands slightly in placation. "Hey, if I'm being given the option to play nice, that's completely fine." He wasn't at his best right now anyway, still a little frazzled, weaponless and on top of that trying very hard not to be overwhelmed by his current situation.

He wasn't sure what to make of the man. That he wasn't being outright attacked or goaded was about the only positive thing, but it was working immensely in the other Force-user's favor. The padawan seemed to relax, if just fractionally. The last thing he wanted was a fight.

BD-1 wiggled in place behind him, booping at Cal, which at least made the latter crack a smile, if faint.

"Making friends, BeeDee?" He looked towards the man again, gauging. "You sound like you've been here a while."

[kallig]

"It's good that you're willing to be reasonable."

Jedi so rarely were, after all. At least Jedi from his own time. They were all liars and cheats who weren't able to live up to the peace they preached. If only they could all work together rather than always fight at home, too. The galaxy would be a better place for it. Of course, not all Sith thought the way Altair thought, perfectly happy with the warmongering that was their eternal legacy.

Nothing he needed to burden this Jedi with, he figured, as he seemed perfectly willing and able to keep this peaceful.

RE-1 tilted to look at Altair, chirped at him, and took a few careful hops forward, beeping at BD-1. Droids making friends indeed. This time around, Altair did not tug his droid back.

"Longer than I would have liked, yes. But the Agrii are only concerned with what they need, and care little for the worlds we all come from, and whatever fires we have that need to be put out at home. A day, a week, a month... It doesn't matter, does it? We've all been taken away from the places we belong."

[out_of_order]

One needed to choose their battles carefully, and Cal really saw no reason to make one of this. He was back in survivor mode and given what he could understand of the situation here, learning more about things seemed the best way to go about it. Even if it was from an unknown Force wielder. He already has his hunches drawn by sense and the words the other had spoken, but the man felt differently from the Inquisitors. Maybe because he wasn't bent on killing Cal right off the back.

His lips quirked in dry amusement at the thought, and he figured he had to be pretty drained if he was able to laugh about his near-death experiences. At the inquisitive tweedle from BD-1, the padawan knelt down to let the little droid hop to the ground. Dancing back and forth on his bird-like legs, BD-1 then started forward, perhaps more boldly than RE-1's approach although he drew up short, beeping back.

Cal looked from the droids to the other man again, not quite frowning, but not all too happy about the implications. But then he was hardly the only one in such a position, not that it made it better.

"And that's it then? We get dumped here and expected to fix things for these people we haven't even met. I mean...maybe if they thought to ask first?"

[kallig]

"That is it. Not only do they expect us to fix their world from them, but they have a poor sense of who and what makes a hero. A Sith is a savior to no one, and yet..."

Altair gestured vaguely. He was no ordinary Sith, that was true. Had worked hard to maintain some sense of light, worked hard to stay a person rather than a living avatar of wrath, and had worked hard to now allow himself to see other people as disposable game pieces that would die as he saw fit, even if his Order encouraged doing just that.

"I suppose they're getting better if they saw fit to tug a Jedi away from his home."

RE-1 was happy to make friends- even with a Jedi's droid, booping and beeping in what Altair assumed was a cheerful tone. Altair couldn't help but smile at that and wish it was so easy for everyone to get along.

Staying quiet a moment, thinking, Altair then spoke up again, "Though we are put at odds by the teachings we follow, I am serious in that we should keep the peace. I mean you no harm, and I'll assume you mean me none as well. Survival in such a precarious situation requires harmony not discord."

Not exactly spoken like a Sith- more like a Jedi, he supposed. But Altair was nothing if not pragmatic.

[out_of_order]

Cal tensed again, as casually as the word had been dropped. What he'd heard of the Sith were old teachings and stories, although he'd heard the murmurings and knew that the dark side was always a thing within reach. Tapping into it didn't necessarily make you a Sith, so did identifying as a Sith make you necessarily bad?

Thankfully Altair had already been winning some points in his favor. Cal sighed, shrugging loosely as he stood again, watching the droids at play.

"Yeah, well I'm not quite a Jedi. Still a padawan in rank," he admitted. Did it really make a difference any more? Then again, what use was a padawan or a Jedi without a lightsaber?

BD-1 had very little experience with fellow droids that weren't intent on killing his padawan pal, so meeting RE-1 was refreshing. It was a little difficult following what was said, but in the end Binary was still Binary, and a little was better than nothing.

"I have no reason to do you any harm." Cal looked at the man, his earlier tension dissipating. "I've never really met a Sith before. The Inquisitors, they use the dark side, but I'm not sure where they fit on that scale."

[kallig]

"I find that rank has very little to do with anything at all. It has its importance within any Order, Sith, Jedi, or otherwise... But I find that the Force itself doesn't care what title you hold. I have a Jedi at my side, at home. She is no less a Jedi for walking at a Sith's side. I am no less a Sith, for walking at hers."

Of course, perhaps this went into the territory of lecturing. He was starting to wonder if that was a habit.

Still, it had been so long since he had sensed the Force within anyone else, and though he considered those who could not use the Force to be equal with those who could, it had been quite lonely, not sensing the movement of thousands upon thousands engaging in whatever insanity life threw their way. He could sense minds and life and the Force was a constant in every living thing, but... Well, he supposed he hadn't realized just how quiet things had been until now.

"And a rank has very little to do with heroism, as well. I think that has to do with personality more than anything else."

A slight smile then, "I assume you became a Jedi and stay a Jedi because you want to help others?"

Most Jedi did. Of course, many Jedi began buying into their own hype too, in his experience, some making a bad situation worse.

"Can't say I've heard of them, but knowing this place, chances are, we are from different times entirely. Where I am from, a Jedi recognizes a Sith, and a Sith recognizes a Jedi. There are so many of us, after all."

And then, as a jest; "Or perhaps it is because the Sith are entirely more fashionable than the Jedi that we stick out."

Never mind that he was wearing white himself, very atypical for a Sith.

[out_of_order]

"Less importance and even less a difference when the Order is gone," Cal said quietly. He lifted his head though, surprised to hear that a Jedi and a Sith could be comrades. Or was he still just somewhat in shock that he was actually speaking to a Sith? No, not shock, not exactly. Everything in general just felt so surreal.

"I don't know that I'd call myself a hero," he said, smiling wryly. "But I guess the helping others is still valid." He couldn't turn his back when he saw what the Empire was doing to the Wookies of Kashyyyk, just like he couldn't turn his back on the possibility of restoring the Order and fighting for those who couldn't or wouldn't think to stand against the Empire on their own.

It took him a moment to digest what the Sith was saying next. His brow furrowed, and at first he thought he was mishearing, but as the man continued... It explained much, and yet it was difficult to believe.

"...what, brown robes aren't fashionable?" Not that he wore anything very Jedi-esque at the moment, the worn suit and poncho of a scrapper, still somehow more colorful if dirtier than his robes had ever been. His own jest was half-hearted, but Cal felt like any bit of humor helped him right now.

"It must be a really different time... So far as we were aware, there weren't any Sith- and the Jedi were peacekeepers for the Republic. ...except somehow that ended up with us serving as generals and such to battle against the Separatists." He shook his head, folding his arms.

[kallig]

"I suppose Jedi aren't supposed to."

He supposed he understood that. Revan had thought himself a hero, bought into his own hype, that he was important, special, chosen. That he could do what no other living being, Jedi or Sith, could ever do. All Revan had done in the end was make it so much worse for those who were left to mop up his mess.

He wouldn't consider himself a hero, either. Arrogance was common in Sith, but his own tendency to be arrogant, act superior, only happened when people acted high and mighty, acted as though they were better than him for whatever reason.

"Even I find the desire to help others to be a honorable one."

He struggled with it himself. Struggled with seeing himself as that sort of person too, even if he worked hard to not be controlled by what normally controlled his kind. A life lived in rage was no life at all.

His question drew a snort from him, and he covered his mouth to keep from outright laughing.

"Not so, no. I wouldn't be caught dead in drab brown robes."

Of course he had his reasons for that too.

"I think I know about the time you're from. That is nearly four-thousand years in the future for me. In my time, both the Jedi and the Sith are plentiful. Probably more Jedi than there are Sith, to be honest. After all, unlike how the Jedi Order works, those who do not manage to become Sith, die."

[thrawnsaide]

[Eli spotted the new comer from a distance. They didn't often get new people, but every once in a while a few would trickle in.

After making sure his olive grey uniform was presentable, he warily approached the other. He wasn't sure how the reaction would be toward his uniform. It always brought mixed reactions. As Eli got closer he noticed the little droid he seemed to have. So it looked like the new comer was possibly from their world?]

Hello? Do you need any help, sir?

[He questioned in a clear tone, but didn't make an effort to hide his Wild Space accent.]

[out_of_order]

[By default Cal was cautious of anyone. His trust had been badly shattered with the betrayal of his clone comrades and while he eventually figured somehow they too were pawns in whatever had happened, the grim lesson had been learned.

The uniform didn't set him off immediately; the padawan had come across very few Empire militia in uniform other than Stormtrooper whites, save for some unfortunate AT-ST pilots.

BD-1 hooted lowly around the same time that familiarity of the style dawned upon Cal, and any steps he was about to take were then halted. The accent wasn't something he could place, but it was the least thing on his mind.]

...probably.

My friend and I got here not too long ago so...just trying to figure out where to go from here.

[thrawnsaide]

Well most tend to stay at the rundown hotel or just grab an empty building and claim it as their own. There's not a lot to work here, but most of us here have been trying to get this place up and running again make it habitable. I can show you how to get into the town area if you want it.

[Eli stopped a few inches away from he new comer, making sure to give the other some distance.]

[out_of_order]

[At least he couldn't sense any hostility from the man. He wondered if the Empire's reach touched as far as...wherever this Agra 10 was. If Cal was lucky, maybe word about him hadn't gotten out this far, which was both a relief and slightly worrying. At least there wasn't anything outwardly advertising him as a Jedi. For now his problems wouldn't be circulating around dodging the Empire, it seemed.]

Something of a free-for-all, huh? I see...

[He exchanged a look with his droid again before nodding once at Eli.]

Sure. Any help would be appreciated.

[hulkintraining]

After the ships landed, a tall, blonde teenage boy was one of the first to un-board. Despite having spent a good amount of time on spaceships before, including a memorable couple of months where he practically lived on one while trying to evade an inter-dimensional parasite, Teddy wasn't a huge fan of space travel. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that two separate alien nations either wanted to kill him or kidnap him at any given moment. Or maybe it was the fact that he was born and raised in a large city, and he just preferred having solid ground beneath his feet.

Either way, it was a big relief to be off that ship and its cramped quarters. He stretched his arm up above his head, working out the kinks in his back, as he scanned his surroundings. Movement ahead caught his gaze, drawing his focus to the figure of the young man approaching.

Huh. Someone new? He raised a hand, offering the other guy a wave. That should show that he's friendly.

"Hi there. You coming to help out with the storm? We're stocking supplies first, so it'll be a little while before take off."

[out_of_order]

Waving? Waving was nice. It beat greetings of blaster-fire and shock-staves. Cal lifted his hand to offer a lazy wave back as he saw someone come off the ship. He didn't look that much older than the padawan. From his usual spot over Cal's shoulder, BD-1 poked his head out, cocking it this way and that much like a bird.

"Hey," Cal said once they were near enough not to have to shout. "Storm?" His eyes automatically tracked towards the distance where he'd sensed... It wasn't something he could put his finger on, exactly. He glanced back at Teddy.

"Mind filling me in?"

[hulkintraining]

Right. This guy had missed out on the dubious honor of direct contact from the Agrii, explaining the storm and their newfound mission. Teddy wasn't sure he even fully understood what was going on, being a recent arrival himself. But he could manage a brief re-cap.

"We got a message from the Agrii--our new alien overlords or whatever--about a storm coming in south of Temba. Apparently the storm can kill the Agrii, but for some reason they think it won't hurt us. They want us to investigate, find out what's causing the storm. Stop it."

Teddy said it all very casually, like this was just another day. As he finished speaking his eyes darted to the other guy's shoulder, where something was poking its head out.

"Is that a robot? Awesome."

[out_of_order]

"Those guys, right..." Cal murmured, lips quirking in what wasn't quite a smile, but then he still wasn't really sure what to make of everything. It was a lot to process, even with- or was it especially with- the instructions included.

"How are they so sure it won't hurt us?" Because running into a potentially lethal storm sounded more than a little concerning. His brow furrowed, but he didn't exactly question stopping a storm. If something was causing it, then it made sense to that there should be a way to stop it. Of course, it all relied on the not dying like these Agrii upon exposure.

As Teddy noticed the droid, the padawan finally did crack something of a smile, nodding slightly in his buddy's direction. "This is BeeDee-One. And I'm Cal. Cal Kestis."

BD-1 booped cheerfully at the blond in greeting, standing a little taller as he was introduced.

[hulkintraining]

Teddy shrugged. "They didn't give much in the way of specifics. It was basically summed up as it kills Agrii but not heroes. The heroes being us. And they didn't leave us a way to ask any questions."

It sounded dangerous, made even more so because of how much they didn't know. But Teddy was used to getting caught up in things without having all, or any, of the pertinent information. And they wouldn't get any closer to fixing this planet if they all decided to just stay away from the storm.

Once the introductions began Teddy's smile returned. "Nice to meet you both. I'm Teddy Altman. I arrived here not too long ago, so I guess we're the new guys."

[out_of_order]

He couldn't help but frown at that. Whatever this whole thing was that they'd unwillingly gotten themselves roped into, the whole idea seemed less and less appealing given how secretive their...hosts? appeared to be.

"Heroes, huh." Cal's eyes drifted back towards the rest of the empty place. As much as he had questions, he doubted anyone else would know the answers if the Agrii limited communication with them. Brows lift as Teddy admits he hadn't been here all that much longer himself. It was something of an odd relief to hear.

"Guess so," Cal said, smiling crookedly. "Nice to meet you too, Teddy."

[hulkintraining]

He nodded, his smile fading just a bit. "Yeah. Heroes. Because we're supposed to save their planet and all. Would have been nice to be asked first, right?"

It wasn't as if his home was filled to the brim with people who would have been happy to help out the Agrii if only they had been made aware of their situation. But no, kidnapping and holding people hostage was a great way to restore a planet.

"Well, I can't really give you much of a tour. I was only here for a short time before the Agrii sent me on to meet the others. But I can help you get in touch with some of the people who are staying, if you want. You probably need some time to settle in."

[out_of_order]

"The option would've been nice, yeah. A warning, at least? I'm not sure how these Agrii figure everyone will be fine with being whisked away to some unknown place and expected to solve their problems."

Especially when they might have plenty of their own to deal with. Maybe a distraction was what Cal needed, but not like this.

"It's fine. I wasn't expecting much for a tour anyway. I'm figuring I may as well just jump into things. This storm's supposed to be something we have to fix somehow, right? And it'd be too easy to just let myself get lost in thoughts otherwise."

[hulkintraining]

"I don't think they really care? Like, they're not giving us much of a choice either way. We could refuse to help, but the best we'd accomplish is getting trapped here until the Agrii find others who will help."

For what it was worth, Teddy didn't think the Agrii meant any actual harm. They were desperate and acting selfishly, but he couldn't entirely blame them for that.

"Oh, I should also mention they have some kind of power dampener they're using on us. So if you have any special abilities they might not work the same way, or be as strong."

He figured it couldn't hurt to give him a heads up rather than let the other man find out the hard way.

"Yeah. No idea how we're going to fix it yet, but I guess we'll figure that part out." He jerked a thumb back towards the ship he had stepped out of earlier. "You can catch a ride with us if you want? Not everyone is going, so we have some extra space."

[out_of_order]

"If they don't care then why bother bringing us out here at all?" And being stuck for even longer just didn't sound appealing. Cal wasn't sure what to think of the Agrii himself, but they really weren't making the best case for themselves.

What Teddy said next made him frown again. "Power dampener?" Was that why it seemed a little difficult at first to sense the Force when he'd arrived? How was that even possible? But then the same could be asked of their being brought here. "If they can do such things, but not handle whatever this storm is, then how do they expect us to do anything?"

There were probably going to be many questions they'd have to settle for being unanswered for the time being. Cal breathed out a sigh, trying to refocus himself. Trying to work out too much at once wouldn't get him anywhere. He looked back at the ship Teddy indicated, giving a nod.

"You said something about getting supplies? Let's do that first. We'll work it out from there."