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| - Jessalyn An intimidating figure dressed entirely in black. Obviously female and human, her tall, slender body is covered with a form-fitting black outfit made of an iridescent material. One of her legs is swathed in bandages that hold bacta patches in place, and she has obvious difficulty with mobility.. Her porcelain face is scarred with a fresh wound that gouges its way from her right temple to her chin, badly marring one eye; but the other smolders with a green, fiery intensity. Around her slim waist is a plain black belt fastened with a polished silver buckle, and a black cloak, somewhat tattered, is thrown back from her shoulders, falling just to her knees when it's not fluttering in the breeze. Aurejin If one remembers people's faces by recalling specific features, individual aspects of them that seem striking, then Aurejin is composed of: thick, dark hair, dark eyes, smooth, pale skin with no facial hair, a symmetry and composition about the head that is regarded as handsome by most. He's a bit too tall, too lithe and narrow for an average human, and is probably some closely related species. All in all, a collection of unremarkable features. However, when he is taken as a whole, there is more to him: a graceful, almost elegant poise in his step, a clear and deliberate element in his voice, history on his face and an awareness in his eye which suggests that he is *about* something larger than that in which he is currently engaged. A plain, neutral-colored shirt hangs on his shoulders, so large as to resemble a poncho except for the sides being mostly closed. The sleeves are so wide as to be billowing with the front of the garment completely flat and unadorned. Drab. The collar of the shirt is laced with some loose hanging cord, sagging laces in X shapes but set up to allow for comfort and mobility and revealing plenty of the tight black shirt underneath. A long loop of thin silver chain hangs from his right side, its beginning concealed somewhere beneath his shirt. His gray breeches are similarly loose and well-worn. A pair of ankle-high black boots with large treaded soles complete the outfit. 6/1/02 Ravine -- Jungle Wilderness Totally surrounded on all sides by the rich vegetation of the forest, this ravine is eerily silent. The canopy overhead blocks out all light from above. The floor here is composed of thick black dirt and a few gangly vines which sprout up from the ground. Immense walls of vegetation enclose the ravine from two sides, while a huge log has fallen across the south edge of the gully, blocking all passage in that direction. To the southwest, and encrusted in vines is a towering Ziggurat. An enormous gaping door in it's side sitting like a massive darkened cave. A few lights around the exterior tell you that it is occupied.
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* There has been a lot of activity here lately. A newly trod path winds through the thick jungle underbrush toward the nearby temple, the group of six small but determined but meeting with only mixed success once they had gained access. Roth had been something of a puzzle, though it was becoming more complete in Aurejin's head; he would be dangerous to deal with, though necessary. It was all Aurejin could do to keep from resorting to all-out battle back there. Fighting had not been the plan. It was better to test the boy's limits to begin with, and lay plans from there. The rest of the group had wandered out cautiously sometime after Aurejin, the tall Jedi's head full of his own abstract thoughts. So much to work out in such a short amount of time. The others were around somewhere, though Aurejin didn't particularly feel the need to watch over them. He knew Roth was gone and wouldn't be coming back in the immediate future. Better to let them find Simon and return to the ship by themselves so he could think. And so he does, wandering roughly along the line of their old path, stepping lightly, touching his hand on a stump or branch every now and then for support. Aurejin pauses, and squints, staring up at the canopy far overhead. Something... He may have seen the flash of the starfighter that appeared for a moment in Yavin's skies, and then disappeared, swallowed up by the canopy. Or perhaps he sensed the indelible imprint in the Force that precedes the ambiguous and certainly dangerous fallen Jedi who has been stalking them since their departure from Caspar. Jessalyn's approach is quiet and stealthful, though her altered aura is projected before her, coming from no one clear direction. A biting cold incongruous with the muggy heat of Yavin's jungle envelopes Aurejin, and her laughter is felt more than heard, like a witch's cackle... proud, powerful, and... resigned. _Aurejin... Jedi of the Old Ways... I have found you so that you can complete your purpose._ A slow chill slides up Aurejin's spine, raising those tiny hairs along the back of his neck despite the oppressive humidity. He turns and looks behind him, his once-honed senses still precise and full of power though unpracticed. "But what do you know of my purpose, my lost friend?" he calls out, projected more up than any other direction in lieu of precise information of where she was lurking. The man's voice is amazingly loud with a very small amount of effort. All in all, it's like an invisible public address system is following him around, his rich voice rolling off into the woods in every direction. "Once you knew, perhaps." Finally a rustling sound starts from the very top of the ravine, though its source is hidden by the vegetation that surrounds the entire area so thickly. Only when she is some twenty meters from the ground does Jessalyn appear, clinging to a thick, rope vine which she nimbly descends. When her feet fall upon the jungle floor, she turns slowly, facing Aurejin as she pushes her cloak back over her shoulders and it's lifted by a hot gust of wind. "I did, once," she replies, her voice almost human again, her green eyes fierce and sad all at once. "In a way, I still do. I know that your intent is to destroy me. I can only hope that you will be successful." Aurejin turns to face her, letting his arms hang in front of his body, wrists coming together and rolling, hands wrapping together elegantly. He sizes her up for a long time, unblinking gaze cutting away the superfluous. Finally, he speaks. "You're mistaken." To that end, he turns to the side and exhales, glad to be had that settled. The tall man sits down wearily, the soft remnants of a fallen tree serving as a convenient moss-covered perch. "I'm hardly interested in destroying anyone, though my group..." The Jedi waves a hand toward the temple. "Would likely prefer me be their personal assassin that what I am. No... I don't want to destroy you. I want to uncover you. To clear away your shroud." He places a hand on each knee and stares at the ground in front of his feet, sounding tired. "But it seems as difficult to separate from you as Mira's crown is to her." With a quiet chuckle, Jessalyn watches Aurejin take a seat on the mossy log, and she steps slowly forward, boots crunching in the underbrush before she reaches the newly-made path. "Of course... you -are- a Jedi. Your way is not destruction... but redemption." She seems both irritated and comforted by this fact, and gives Aurejin a level look, gauging him as deeply as he had inspected her. When she speaks again her voice is barely above a whisper. "I fear there is no hope for me. When I cannot even choose my own destiny..." She shakes her head, the words trailing off to dissolve into the sounds of the jungle, and she closes her eyes. "The only choice I have is death." Aurejin's eyebrow cocks and he looks at Jessalyn with a loaded expression. "Your thoughts betray you," he says, standing quickly and stepping toward her. "Your willingness to end it all is your true self speaking. Do you understand?" The tall man's brow grows dark and he stalks toward her, leaning forward and closing the space between them to but a meter. "While it's there, while the Jedi that *was* is there, finish it, for all our good." He levels a hand and a long, rigid index finger at her cloak, to the semi-concealed blaster at her belt. "Finish it!" he bellows. The jungle around them erupts with hoots and calls, avian creatures exploding from tree tops. She nearly cringes at the volume of Aurejin's commanding voice, and takes a step backward from him, the conflict clear upon her face as well as the churning of emotions that roil within Jessalyn's heart. "I -- I can't!" she cries. "He forbade it!" And yet, one black-gloved hand trembles, moving to the blaster at her side and pulling it from its holster by slow, agonizing degrees. Sweat beads up and then rolls down Jessalyn's forehead, stinging her eyes as she gazes at the other Jedi -- lost, alone, but determined. _It wasn't supposed to end this way._ She lets her breath out in a gasp as she stares into the barrel of the blaster, fighting off layers of deceit and control that have bound her for so long, aching for the one willful action that could finally end this living nightmare. "Tell Luke... how sorry I am," she whispers, eyes closing as her finger depresses the trigger. It was a gamble that would have had an extremely traumatic impact upon the woman regardless of how it turned out. But it was a high-stakes game long before this moment, and... well, Aurejin decides as she reaches for the blaster, that she would know peace no matter how it ends. As she pulls the weapon and aims it, he moves forward and sidesteps. Full of the Force, an instrument of it, the Jedi's own will is gone. His saber is suddenly there, hacking downwards into the few centimeters of space between the woman's head and the end of her weapon. The wall of protective violet is nothing less than perfectly timed, the killing bolt spattering harmlessly up into the trees. Aurejin's weapon reverses course in the same amount of time, collapsing as he clips it back on his belt. All in less than a second. Both hands now free, the Aurejin puts a hand on her wrist to point the blaster at the earth and eases a comforting arm over her shoulders. "Your journey begins anew, my friend," he whispers. "Hope... has won the day." A curled tuft of red hair floats gently to the forest floor. Shaking, and utterly prepared for death for yet another time, Jessalyn is stunned by Aurejin's action. Before she can even blink, the violet blade has passed before her eyes, protecting her from the deadly laser bolt. The woman doesn't know whether to be relieved and grateful or livid. She stares at Aurejin as he lowers her hand, and her suddenly numb fingers let go of the blaster so that it falls into the dirt. Trying to speak, Jessalyn's lips move a few times before she leans wearily against the supporting arm, watching the tendril of hair drift like a feather to fall beside the forsaken blaster. "I don't know how I did it," she admits, turning watery eyes full of gratitude on this stranger who was not a stranger. Walks cleared her head. Always had it been that way, always would it be that way. And despite risk and dager, mailyn always felt that these walks were better taken alone. Sometimes one needed the company of just thoughts. So many things niggled in her mind. Things about Mira, things about Aurejin, things about Simon. Even things about Jessalyn. It didn't make sense, and yet it did. The conflicting emotions are a roiling sea. She must keep her focus. That focus was Mira and the evil contraption stuck on her head. She hears voices, and some other odd noises. What she sees stuns her. Jessalyn. How did she get here? Mailyn had checked her homing device. And Why did Aurejin have his arms around her. What deception was this? "Strength," Aurejin says, supplying the answer and patting Jessalyn's shoulder softly. "You'll need far more, I fear, for what lies ahead." Nightmares, doubt, lingering darkness, and guilt. "But for now, rest and mourn your passing." To bury it here would be good, to let Valios mark this moment as a milestone, to make a clean break with what she had been twisted into and know that at least one person believed in her. Still... Aurejin had this sort of faith in all people. It wasn't just Jessalyn, but his obligation to her was more profound. And it was selfish: the coming days and battles would be all but impossible for him alone. Quietly, he just pats her on the shoulder repeatedly and lets her look on this place with new eyes and wonder. Mailyn. If it wasn't for careful training and manners, Aurejin would probably curse. He does scowl. Her influence here could be damaging. He gives the approaching woman a welcoming nod to acknowledge her presence, silently preparing himself to make Mailyn a casualty of the war between the Dark and the Light. Jessalyn's redemption was that important. Still trembling, the tears leak from Jessalyn's eyes like a child awakened from the worst kind of nightmare, frightened by the shadows and lingering memories, but relieved beyond measure that it is ended. At least the worst of it, she tells herself, aware still of that part of her mind invaded and manipulated by Palpatine, but held at bay by a strength of spirit and a belief in herself that Jessalyn never was capable of before. Questions and torments tumble in her mind, and she wants to speak about them, pour out all her reservations to this comrade who had helped her when no one else could. "Thank you," is all she manages to say, before her attention is diverted to the newcomer, and Jessa turns her head to gaze sadly at Mailyn, her body tensing like a coiled spring at the sight of her. Aurejin sends through the Force... Peace. Trust will be difficult for them. All Mailyn sees is the scowl. All she senses is hatred. All she feels is betrayal. She does not understand. Aurejin, Ionnous, whoever he was - nothing she knew was the truth. About any of it. She knew what she had seen, and what she had felt. What she had heard and what she had been told. But it did not make sense. Suddenly helping Mira does not seem to matter anymore. It was bigger than she was and beyond the scope of what she was capable of. She had risked so much for nothing. Good, evil it did not matter any more. It was Jessica Marama all over again. Same game with different players. And once again she was nobody's priority. Not that she ever had been, or expected to be. She was just an intruder. She shakes her head and just begins to back away, not caring where she went. She'd find her own way off this jungle world. She'd no more be a part of this. Aurejin realizes he's been holding his breath extremely steady. His chest deflates slightly as Mailyn begins to retreat. "Raines," he calls out, stepping forward tentatively with his arm still on Jessalyn. "Wait. Do you remember?" He gives a small hop and balances atop the other end of the fallen tree that had been a seat for him only a moment ago. The tall Jedi cranes his neck to find her in the thick growth. "Do you remember what I said? About having to trust me? It's difficult, I know. But you must." One arm is extended out straight toward Jessalyn, like a balance, though in fact his hand is outstretched toward the woman, as if to make sure he doesn't lose the delicate Jedi. For Aurejin, what Mailyn thought about him was less important than their fragile alliance. The tall man was about something else entirely, his attention on more than just making friends. But still. Aurejin does care, and a wry, sheepish smile lifts one side of his face as he looks down toward Jessalyn. "I've done nothing. It was you, every moment." Mira wanders out of the forest, where she had found a small stream. This was handy, not only b/c it allowed her to sail various sticks and small branches down stream like boats for amusement, but also because it allowed her to wash off the insect-attracting balm from her neck. The (now devoid of insect carcass) net is still draped over her head, slightly damp from the washing it got in the water. As she emerges into the clearing, she comes to a halt, staring between Jessalyn and Mailyn and Aurejin. What was going on? "Hello..." she says trepidatiously, ready to run in the event that Jessalyn tried to kill her. The tentative smile on Jessalyn's face appears despite her misgivings, and she wipes at her face with the back of her hand. She gives Aurejin a succinct but knowing nod of her head, then looks toward Mailyn, relaxing somewhat, and wondering if she still looks as much like the vile demon she knew she had become. She swallows. "Mailyn," she calls softly. "Don't go... there's nothing to fear... I --" Jessalyn gasps as Mira appears, and her fingers dig involuntarily into Aurejin's arm. "I can give no excuse that would assuage your fears. But I will not harm you... any of you..." Her pleading look turns to Mira, full of sorrow for what the younger girl has been through, and gently wrapping her up with the warm emotions and care that she's always felt for the odd little apprentice. "Please." You sent through the Force to Aurejin... I can't blame anyone for never trusting me again... Aurejin sends through the Force... Ours is a calling that is hard for them to understand. For a moment Mailyn pauses. But she does not understand, and she finds that she cannot trust anyone or anything. How had she come to this? She looks at Mira with that ridiculous thing on her head and feels sympathy for poor girl, but there is nothing Mailyn can do for her. For any of them. It isn't so much that she feels fear as she feels an overwhelming sadness. It threatens to wash over her and steal away any semblance of dignity she has left. Amongst this fistful of Jedi she is of little consequence. She had brought them here, and perhaps that was what she was meant to do. She has not the emotional capacity to handle it any longer. She spares Mira an apologetic half smile, but just wordlessly shakes her head back and forth, walking backward, letting the depths of the forest swallow her up. Aurejin steps off of the elevated log with a small shrug. "Raines will do what she thinks is best, of course. We can admire her simple vision, at least, admire and respect it, secure in the knowledge that our actions are right and hope that she -- and others -- will recognize them as so, in time." The tall man lifts a hand to his face and, starting at his brow, runs it roughly down past his chin. It had been a long, event-filled day. "Trust... may only be earned, my friends." The statement chills Aurejin, saddens him, that his honored position as a member of that lost Order is not automatically trusted and venerated. It was a different time though, and clinging rigidly to the old ways was clearly not possible. Mira tilts her head to one side as Jessalyn does not throw rocks at her or set fire to her head or any of the things Mira had imagined her doing when she went with Simon on Caspar. In fact, she seems quite like the old Jessalyn. "Jessalyn?" Mira queries, taking a few steps closer. As she closes the distance, she can feel, with what little connection with the Force she still retains, that the thing in Jessalyn's mind, the wall as she had called it, didn't seem to be there anymore. "Hi!" the girl cries out, realizing that her friend had been freed from whatever Palpatine had done to her, and she rushes over, wrapping Jessalyn up in a hug. "Where is Mailyn going?" she asks. Relief washes through Jessalyn like a cleansing water, and her tears are interrupted with joyous laughter as Mira rushes to her. Returning the hug, she holds Mira tightly, protectively, part of her mind already diverted to methods and ideas she might use to free her from the awful contraption Palpatine had attached to her head. "Mira," she whispers, heartfelt. The Jedi tilts her head, listening to Aurejin's wise words, and she tries to find comfort in what he says. But, she, too, feels the anguish of being a Jedi in a universe where Jedi are no longer trusted. "I don't think she understands," Jessa replies softly as the woman retreats into the shadows of the jungle. "I can't blame her, Mira. I doubt I would trust me if I were in her position." With a sad, wry smile, she nods at Aurejin, repeating his conviction. "Trust can only be earned." "We should probably begin away," Aurejin notes quietly, running a fingertip over the spine of a plate-sized leaf that is hanging beside his head. "The walk is a fair distance. Jedi Valios, do you have a ship? Marrak and the Selas can take care of Raines." But they would both know exactly what he was suggesting: putting Jessalyn on a ship with Mailyn, Kyyel and Simon would be tantamount to pressing the Big Red Button on the wall of the ship. Self-destruct. "We need to time to heal, and plan." They needed a retreat, a safe house in the midst of all this uncertainty and distrust. They needed a Sanctuary. "Simon's going to be mad if I just leave," Mira notes, looking dubiously into the jungle towards the direction Mailyn had disappeared. "He wants to train me again," she explains for Jessalyn's benefit. "I showed him my lightsaber. He didn't seem mad when I told him I'd have to think about it. But I don't know if he would like it if I just up and left." The memory of another Jedi who should have been there flickers across Jessalyn's mind as she picks up on Aurejin's intent. As she gently pats Mira's shoulder, the redhead purses her lips thoughtfully. "I have a ship we can use to get offworld," she replies. "And I know a safe haven for us. I think you especially would appreciate it, Aurejin." Interrupted by Mira's concerns over Simon, Jessalyn cannot suppress a frown, and she looks between the girl and their new companion without speaking for a moment. "I don't think it would be safe for you to go with him," she says slowly. "Even if it did... make him mad. But of course, it is your decision. He would train you, but not to be a Jedi. He would train you to destroy us all, Mira." She keeps her hand gently on Mira's shoulder, beating back her latent thirst for vengeance. No. It was not something she could give into again. "It's your commitment... your decision." The tallest of the three simply dips his head courteously at Jessalyn's comment. It was too soon to tell about her, this shaken woman, though the potential advantages of having a group, instead of him alone, were becoming clear already. More resources, more ideas... more tasks could be accomplished. If Mira can be brought around, Aurejin will dare to be optimistic, though he says nothing. For now. Mira pulls away from Jessalyn and sits down on the log, pondering for a moment. "I don't want to train with him so much as I'm afraid of what he will do if I don't," she says, realizing how lame it sounds when she actually says it out loud. She shouldn't let fear dictate big decisions like this. "Actually, I'm ready. We can go now," she says, sounding more sure of herself. Carefully gathering up the pair fo staffs from the ground, Mira stands up. It was decided. Jessalyn breathes out a sigh of relief, sharing her smile with Mira as the girl stands ready to go with them. It would be a difficult road ahead, and she is not yet prepared to consider the ramifications of what she's done and what damage has been done to her spirit. Still, being free was a start, and she stoops down for a moment to retrieve the blaster... and the fallen lock of hair. With a flourish, the weapon is returned to its holster, and she looks at the curling red-flamed lock thoughtfully before handing it to Aurejin, smiling crookedly. "You haven't heard of the Refrain of Anshalar, have you?" she asks as they begin their trek back to the ship. With a stiff nod, Aurejin turns to set out along their old trail once more, ready to wade through the rough brush and oppressive humidity. "But yet we live," the man murmurs to Mira with a smile, repeating what he had mentioned to her when first the two had met. The girl seemed to have her own sort of appreciation for his nuanced statements, frequently arriving at meanings entirely unintended but true enough. Taking the hair between his fingers since it's offered, the Jedi starts along behind Jessalyn. But his face is suddenly pale, mouth working silently. "Ahn... Anshalar. I've not heard that name in many years...
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