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Showdown on Tatooine
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| Kane | Date: Thursday, 29 Sep 2011, 1:03 AM | Message # 61 |
 Sergeant
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| This would indeed be the location that had presented itself so clearly to Castor; the vaporator, the hovel, the garage and, inside, a Jedi Master standing over a beaten and bloodied Inquisitor, now unconscious. It was only then that Kane ceased his beating of Animus, breathing heavily as he glanced up at Castor with a knowing glare, as though he knew who he was and had expected him all along. "You made it," he said, with no surprise in his voice. He glanced at Animus once more and stooped to pick up the Inquisitor's lightsaber—prying it from the grip of his severed mechanical arm—then disengaged his own lightsaber and buried them both within the folds of his cloak. "We have to keep moving," he said to Castor, walking in his direction and then past him, heading out of the garage. "We haven't much time."
Castor might have resented the man's presumption, but he seemed to know that Castor would follow him and, indeed, so did Castor. The Inquisitor would remain where he was, to be discovered there by Mira and her stormtroopers only moments too late to help him.
* * *
A landspeeder tore across the desert while, in Mos Eisley, the smoke cleared and the squads of stormtroopers restored order. The blast at the spaceport had been a diversion, of course—the moans of the wounded had subsided now as they received treatment for burns and shrapnel wounds. But whether or not those moans continued to echo in the old man's mind as he sat in the passenger seat of the speeder beside Castor, one couldn't be certain. The morality of Kane's tactics aside, the efficacy of them couldn't be denied—the aged Jedi Master had gone from hunted to hunter in a city full of Imperial stormtroopers and one of Vader's personal enforcers (who was dispensed with having been easily separated from his troops). And for a few crucial moments, a city had been upended.
Even now, Castor would be left to wonder what unsuspecting part he'd played in all of this. Had his involvement begun with the vision he'd received? Or was his very presence in Mos Eisley on today of all days somehow predetermined? Kane had explaining to do, but so far he'd sat silently. "You have questions," he said, eventually.
Jedi Master Baldrick Kane
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| CastorVax | Date: Thursday, 29 Sep 2011, 1:34 AM | Message # 62 |
 Lieutenant colonel
Group: Users
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| Castor was a quieter man than Kane, in more ways than one. Kane's efficiency at which he'd dispatched the stormtroopers and even the Inquisitor had been unmatched... but despite the finesse, it disturbed Castor more than slightly. It was almost, to his eyes, as if Kane had embraced the brutality. Certainly, while Vax was capable of doing such things, he'd not done them, at least not in recent years when his mind had been at relative peace. Now, sitting beside the Jedi Master, he could only wonder where to begin.
"Master Kane, I am pleased to see you alive. It has been... far too many years. Jedi are a rarity these days and the few I have met among the living are not so... well, not so open about announcing their presence to the Empire. How have you survived these long years, Master? Have you found allies? People who will help the Jedi?" Vax realized his voice sounded plaintive, and he hated it for a brief moment, but seeing Kane had brought back years of dreams and hopes and fears. Could Kane even be trusted to know of what Vax had done? That Vax had allied himself with a former Inquisitor and former Separatists? He only hoped that Kane would not disapprove too much.
Castor Vax
Jedi Knight
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| Mira_Naeva | Date: Tuesday, 04 Oct 2011, 6:48 PM | Message # 63 |
 Lieutenant colonel
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| Indeed, they were only moments out in the pursuit. In fact, they were close enough to see the two Jedi retreating down another alleyway. Mira's concern, however, was with Animus, who laid unconscious in the middle of the street. "Leave them for now...no way we can take on Jedi, not now anyway." Sure, they outnumbered the pair by several, but she knew what Jedi were capable of and was not going to take that risk while her partner was injured.
"Get the speeder." She snapped to one of the nearby troopers. Mira holstered her blaster and knelt on one knee down next to the injured Inquisitor to survey the damage. "And a medical, now!" She narrowed her eyes as she noticed the severed metal laying at his side, and noted that his lightsaber was no where around. The Jedi must have taken it. Without letting on that she cared, she cast another glance at him and then stood and paced around the square until the speeder arrived and the medical team loaded Animus onto it.
"The local hospital?" Mira responded to one of their questions. "Fine, but he needs to be in a private, secure wing. I need the physicians cleared before they can work on him." She was being picky, yes, but there were reasons for it. As far as Mira was concerned, they would heal him as much as he needed just so that they could get off of that rock and back to civilization. Though she did wonder if that would happen. The medics worked while she rode in the passenger seat, and tried not to show concern.
Within minutes, maybe ten or fifteen, the hospital came into view and the medical crew took Animus into a secure part of the hospital just as the agent had requested.
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| Kane | Date: Monday, 10 Oct 2011, 10:46 PM | Message # 64 |
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Sergeant
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| "All of your questions will be answered in time," Kane remarked, looking ahead of them at something beyond the dunes and, possibly, beyond 'sight' itself. "For now, it will suffice to say that I have been in seclusion for some years, and that only in recent days have I seen into the Force in a manner that no Jedi has before. I'm convinced that it bade me here to find you, and I've foreseen there are many things we have yet to do. You, I, and others to come." There was a certain intensity and determination in Kane's voice that subsided momentarily as he glanced to Castor and added, "It is good to see you again." But no sooner had he said so did he seem to become distant once more. "I sense our time is short," he went on, "We need to secure passage off this world as quickly as possible. The Emperor has disturbed the Force, and it has called us to a high purpose, Castor." From the grim determination in his eyes, it was apparent that Kane meant every word he said.
"—to destroy the Empire."
The Jedi Master let the gravity of this weigh on Castor for a moment before he added, "If you don't have a transport, we'll need to steal one."
Jedi Master Baldrick Kane
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| CastorVax | Date: Tuesday, 11 Oct 2011, 8:49 AM | Message # 65 |
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Lieutenant colonel
Group: Users
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| Kane's words sent a chill down Vax's spine. To find someone so dedicated to the purpose that Vax was now following was indeed a worthy find indeed. The Jedi Master would make a welcome addition to nearly any of the forces that Vax and Sturn had allied themselves with. He waited silently for a long moment, then chose his words carefully. "I have secured a worthy transport, Master. A Theta-class shuttle that was gifted to myself... and the young man with whom I have worked alongside. A former Jedi by the name of Caden Sturn who is as dedicated to destroying the Empire as are you and I." He did not give further information of Sturn's background for now; that would come in time. However...
"We have made allies as well, Master Kane. I am not sure how familiar you are with the varied outlaw groups, but one by the name of the Libs has been added to our roster of friends, as well as a certain Separatist; Shiva by name. He called himself the Shadowlord."
Castor Vax
Jedi Knight
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| Kane | Date: Friday, 21 Oct 2011, 9:52 PM | Message # 66 |
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Sergeant
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| Upon mention of 'Shiva' the 'Shadowlord,' and the proposition of dealing with Separatists in general, Kane seemed for a moment to have smelled something unpleasant (a distinct possibility on Tatooine). He said nothing, however, until Caden Sturn was mentioned. "Hmm, Caden," the Jedi Master mused. He remembered Sturn well from the Jedi Temple—an insecure and intransigent young man who was far too probing in his criticisms of the Jedi code and customs, and who couldn't even control his latent abilities in the Force. Kane hadn't tried hard to conceal his disapproval of the boy at the time, and he remained distrustful of him now. But the Jedi Master wasn't only searching his feelings, but looking into the Force, too. "No," he said after a long moment of contemplation, "You can't go back there. We can't go back." He pointed into the distance ahead of them. "Bear right, around that mesa. It will get us to Mos Entha by morning. We'll commandeer a ship there."
Perhaps sensing that Castor wasn't eager to toss aside the friends—and the hard fought progress—he had made in recent months, the Jedi Master added, "You'll have to trust me, Castor. I have seen what's to come, and Caden Sturn isn't there and isn't meant to be. Send him a message if you must, but don't tell him where we're going." That wouldn't be difficult, of course, since Castor didn't know where they were going. And it was distinctly possible that Kane didn't either, though one should think the old man's earnest self-assurance would be, well, assuring to Castor. "I'm glad you survived the war," Kane said, changing the subject to one that was perhaps darker for Castor personally. "I never trusted the clones," he added. Considering how much he was demanding of Castor, it was perhaps unusual that the Jedi Master would be so conversational—especially between hour-long bouts of silence as the landspeeder continued to tear its way across the desert.
While it was still plenty light (and plenty hot), it would soon be too dark for any pursuing Imperial scouts to spot the speeder's trail of dust and sand from the air, or to distinguish them on sensors from a troop of Jawas or Tusken Raiders. It seemed they had safely escaped Mos Eisley.
Jedi Master Baldrick Kane
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| CastorVax | Date: Saturday, 22 Oct 2011, 7:52 AM | Message # 67 |
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Lieutenant colonel
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| Indeed, Kane had pegged certain points of Vax on the mark; while attachment was forbidden among the Jedi, Castor couldn't help but feel he was abandoning threefold; Caden, a boy whom he'd been trying to pull from the dark side, Shiva, a Separatist true, but a man he'd given his word to and a man who trusted in him, and the Libs, a group who needed Jedi to help them fight the Empire. "I don't mean to disagree, Master Kane, but perhaps we may be in luck. Caden expressed a possible wish to travel to Mos Eisley on his own to gain parts to repair his droid. It's possible the ship is abandoned, and word may be out to Mos Entha. The Theta is a sound ship and well armed and it costs us no credits or questions if we regain it."
Vax did indeed trust in the Force, and the Master who rode beside him. How could he not? Simply because the Jedi were nigh extinct did not mean the chain of command did not hold, and above all, Vax had been a general. "The clones... the clones did their job, Master. Trust though... I trusted them both more and less than I should have. It was luck I survived. Luck and the teachings of Cin Drallig and the kindness of people whose names I cannot recall." Those memories were too private for him to share with Kane. "Nonetheless, the thought is returned to you; I had feared all the Masters dead, though rumors did come, even to Felucia."
Castor Vax
Jedi Knight
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| Kane | Date: Tuesday, 01 Nov 2011, 12:08 PM | Message # 68 |
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Sergeant
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| Kane hadn't ruled out working with the Libs or even with "Shiva," necessarily. After all, it couldn't be a coincidence that his path had opened to them, through Castor. But time would tell, and in the meantime Kane pondered the matter of Castor's Theta-class shuttle. "It may be useful to us," the Jedi Master said after a moment, "But if it's safe where it is, in Caden's hands, it's better for it remain there. For now, at least. The Imperials will be monitoring departures from Tatooine—whatever ship we use we must abandon as soon as possible in favor of another. We can retrieve the shuttle later if need be, or have Caden bring it to us. But for now, attachment to any one ship is a luxury we can ill afford." And, as Castor had mused, attachments were forbidden. Kane had always been strict in his adherence to the Jedi code and customs; while the matter of the ship seemed to be an insignificant one, it could be that the Jedi Master was testing Castor. He was certainly closely attuned to the Jedi Knight's emotions at the moment. But either way, he'd meant what he said about evading the Empire and, surely, changing ships often while keeping the Theta-class in reserve wasn't an imprudent course of action.
Jedi Master Baldrick Kane
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| CastorVax | Date: Wednesday, 02 Nov 2011, 1:27 AM | Message # 69 |
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Lieutenant colonel
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| "But of course, Master. You are correct." Vax bowed his head in agreement. The ship, while a valuable tool, was no more than that: a tool, and any tool lost could easily be replaced. Finding a new ship that was just as heavily armed and willing to take them where they needed to go... now that might well be a problem. Nonetheless, Vax was still at ease with their journey. In due time, they'd be off the desert planet and back where they belonged: helping the galaxy. Turning the control wheel ever so slightly, Vax moved to maneuver around the mesa. Mos Entha was their future.
Castor Vax
Jedi Knight
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