Post by Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy on May 2, 2011 20:32:15 GMT -5
Name: Sherasti Rin
Race: Togruta
Age: 24
Height: 6' (not including montrals)
Weight: 150 lbs
Appearance: Like all Togruta, she has the signature reddish colored skin, white facial markings and lips, and large striped lekku (head tails) and montrals (hollow horns and sensory organs). The striping on her montrals and lekku are chevron-shaped, and start as light blue at the top and darken progressively into a navy blue color at their tips, which rest at stomach height. Her facial features are not at all sharp, but are slightly narrow and high.
She is quite tall, and has a very attractive figure, though it is generally concealed by her clothing.
She wears the simple brown robes of the Order on her upper body, and a skirt on her lower with only the slightest embellishments, among them a Togruta sash. Like most of her species she prefers to go without shoes.
Her only permanent possessions are her lightsaber, her ornate tooled leather sash, and an akul-tooth headdress she earned on a mission to Shili, where she learned about her culture.
Sherasti has a rich accent, that can be best described as faintly Caribbean. It is not particularly strong, just a hint of color around the edges of her voice.
Image:
Personality: She is a contradiction in many ways, being an unusual blend of traditional Togruta behaviors and adopted human mannerisms. She is social like all Togruta, but values solitary meditation as well. She is not opposed to spending days or weeks in solitude (as most Togruta would), but would vehemently protest any longer period spent alone.
Frequently she is absorbed in thought, and often appears to be ignoring a conversation. However, that is merely appearance. She is generally aware of her surroundings, even if she doesn't show it.
At times she can be condescending to others, unwilling to take criticism, and dwells too heavily on her own failures.
She also possesses an unusual sense of humor, one best described as wry.
She is generally quiet and very serene, seemingly always in control of herself. She comes across as truly sagacious, a surprise to others given her young age but a quality slightly more common among Togruta. Another species trait she possesses is an unshakeable fidelity to the Jedi Order and its values.
Despite her aura of serenity, she also possesses a rather roguish streak. Sometimes she'll grace others with an impish smile that strangely doesn't seem to diminish her serenity at all.
She has a tendency to be self-conscious of her stature and figure, and tries to cover herself up to avoid being a distraction.
Birth place: Abregado-rae, Capital City.
Faction: Jedi
Rank: Knight (Consular)
Lightsaber: Single blade, curved hilt with guard.
Color: Green
Practiced Lightsaber forms:
Shii-Cho 5
Makashi 4
Soresu N/A
Ataru N/A
Shien / Djem So N/A
>>Sub-form Backhanded
Niman N/A
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or Dual Wield
Juyo N/A
Double Bladed Combat
Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices: Standard, Force Illusion (currently developing and refining)
Telekinetic: 6
Telepathic: 7
Body: 2
Sense: 5
Protection: 3
Healing: 4
Destruction: 0
Specialized Skills:
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 4
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 5
Leadership: 4
Unarmed: 5
Melee Weapons: 1
Ranged Weapons: 1
Force Attunement: +6
Bio:
ORIGINS-
Born to a local healer (who died in childbirth) and a factory worker on Abregado-rae, Sherasti spent much of her early years on the street. She picked pockets, pan-handled, and gathered trash to help bring enough income into the family.
Life had been going poorly for her family ever since they made the rash decision to leave Shili for one of the Core Worlds, where they had hoped for a better livelihood. Instead they found poverty and an ever-worsening downward spiral of smaller and smaller meals and longer and longer work days.
What little income they had was increasingly taken up by taxes. They would have been able to scrape by if not for a trend against labor gaining ground. Unions were disbanded and the wages dropped dramatically, which caused little Sherasti to take to the streets gathering scrap metal and doing odd jobs instead of learning in school.
One day she attempted to pick-pocket a stranger, but her attempt was easily foiled. The stranger was a Jedi, who showed compassion on the child. Almost immediately the Jedi could tell Rin possessed higher force sensitivity than most of her species. After obtaining approval, the Jedi asked Sherasti's father to allow her to leave Abregado to become a Jedi. Her father gratefully accepted the chance to give his daughter a better life, and just before her sixth birthday Sherasti Rin became a Youngling.
YOUNGLING-
She had trouble fitting in with the others at first, having never learned the concept of trust on the streets. But with guidance from the Masters and from her peers, she was able to consider every Jedi a member of her family. It was an extension of her own engrained cultural behavior.
Being highly social helped as well, and she started to fit in.
Her own rather unusual upbringing helped her overcome one flaw deeply ingrained in the Togruta psyche. Rather than leaving behind those who couldn't keep up, she considered it a personal duty to help them stay with the group as best as possible. This trait frequently cast her in the role of assistant in situations rather than leader.
She soon became quite the peacemaker, with a knack for for calming tense situations. Her own natural intelligence quickly proved to be an asset as well, and despite her lack of early education she proved to be a voracious learner.
PADAWAN-
At 13, she became Padawan to the Jedi Knight (soon to be promoted to Master) Hult Pedara, a skilled Jedi Consular known for studying diplomacy. Here Sherasti continued to improve her skills, showing greater aptitude at use of the force than at swordsmanship. Nevertheless, through determined practice she managed to become proficient at Makashi as well as Shii-Cho, feeling the precise movements and reserved nature of the style were well-suited to her own philosophy of pure defense.
Under the tutelage of Pedara, she started to manifest more developed telepathic abilities. Force persuasion came easily to her, showing an affinity for the telepathic aspects of the force. Over time she built up on this affinity.
Rin continually furthered her mental skills, not only by heightening her awareness, but also developing a rare skill of her own: using the force to create illusions in the minds of others. Though the illusions only lasted a few seconds, the senior Jedi who were immediately consulted recognized them for what they were: the rare power of force illusion in its earliest stages.
Pedara impressed upon her the serious nature of the skill and the danger of its misuse, but fully encouraged the further pursuit of the skill. It became a daily task to practice, and Sherasti's progress was substantial. Her illusions became increasingly complex, extending beyond shallow and fixed representations of people, creatures, and objects. Though still in development, every day her confidence grew until she was able to, for a short time, simulate moving people and objects as well as sounds, voices, and stationary objects.
Together, the two Jedi carried out numerous diplomatic missions, once preventing an assassination attempt. Kevra Vreed, the Chief Advisor to the Pantolomin Senator (one of the heads of the Fleet Appropriations Committee) was attacked by an unidentified assassin during a consultation with Pedara and Rin on a goodwill trip to Pantolomin. Sherasti was severely injured in the initial attack and stayed with Kevra while Pedara chased after the assassin. Though the would-be killer escaped unscathed, the Jedi were able to follow the trail all the way to Eriadu. There they found an arms contractor had devised a detailed plan to eliminate Vreed and replace him with an impostor, all in order to have an inside man sending lucrative contracts to them.
Sanctions were placed on ResCorp and the principal architects of the plan were placed under arrest.
Rin's philosophy became increasingly concrete, until it was veritably set in stone. She resolved never to use the force for anything but defense (of herself or others),to never deny a reasonable request from someone in need, to always place the welfare of others above her own, and to take a life only as the last resort.
KNIGHTHOOD-
At the age of 23 she undertook the Trials. For her Test of Skill she was pitted against one of the Masters at the temple, an experienced Jedi Guardian, an Echani named Yarni. She succeeded in using Makashi to protect herself from aggressive styles with no small effort, and to prevent herself from being disarmed. She showed a remarkable ability to sidestep attacks and avoid the need to use her strength. Though not entirely sure of 'how,' they speculated her telepathic prowess was giving her insight into her opponent's moves slightly in advance. Though the duel ended in a draw, she had succeeded in conserving her own strength to an astonishing extent while wearing down her opponent's. Yarni yielded despite his best efforts. He had been battling to win, but Sherasti had been battling to a draw. Her goal had simply been to outlast rather than to score serious hits. It was a cunning use of Makashi in an unconventional role, one truly unique to herself. She was able to use it the same role some Jedi used Soresu, addressing her own inadequacy and limitations. Her left arm had virtually no strength thanks to its severe injury earlier, but she worker around it through minimal evasive movements.
When she refused to take the offensive against the tired Echani Guardian by demonstrating more aggressive styles, despite the urges and demands of the others, she was considered to have passed the Test of Courage by standing up for her own values despite pressure from her seniors.
The Trial of the Flesh was completed after the fact; in the foiled assassination she was seriously injured, losing much strength in and control over her left arm. Even after healing, her left arm still functions at a lower level than the right. This is another reason she relies heavily on Makashi, as it is a style suited to a single hand.
Her final Trial, that of the Spirit, took the form of deep meditation, during which she saw visions of a future without restraint in which her darkest inner thoughts violated each of her principles in turn. She still finds herself troubled by this today, and it serves as a constant reminder of the dangers of the dark side. It had taken her a full day to realize that moving beyond the vision rather than letting it endlessly torment her was the goal of the trial rather than exorcising the vision completely. It was healthy and wise to know the dangers for what they were.
Now she has been a Jedi Knight for a rather brief time, mediating various trade disputes and generally promoting peace.
She was assigned a Padawan named Xell Rayner at the request of the masters. His former master was walking a line perilously close to the dark side, and as a result the Padawan was transferred to Sherasti to finish his training. The six year age difference poses a slight problem, as does her attractive figure.
She is currently doing her best to carry out missions and to guide her Padawan along the proper path.
RP Sample:
Sherasti Rin stood in the dark corridor outside the now-empty conference room she had been in only three hours ago. ResCorp had been greatly unwilling to provide the right information, and neither Pedara nor Rin were willing to walk the perilous line between using the force to coax out information and dominating the mind of another. It had been decided that the Jedi would split up, the master distracting the tails following closely behind them ever since their first meeting.
Despite being a six foot tall Togruta, Sherasti seemed perfectly able to disappear in crowds. And the dense streets of Phelar, one of the largest industrial and population centers on the whole of Eriadu, provided ample opportunity to slip away unnoticed.
Entering the ResCorp building had been surprisingly easy, simply a matter of making a door in the right place. Now the Padawan was moving along silently in the darkness, her natural and force senses of awareness were serving her well. The shadowy corners were no mysteries to her, instead they were shelter from prying eyes. The stripes and rust coloration of the Togruta were now an asset; Rin blended into the shadows as naturally as a hand fits in the glove.
Up ahead the sound of gentle footsteps could be heard coming towards the door. In response the Jedi ducked a little deeper into the shadows and watched intently as the door opened. A crack of light appeared and a uniformed man stepped through, humming idly to himself and twirling his mustache. He wore the uniform of a company guard and carried himself with the relaxed bearing that indicated a mixture of boredom and confidence.
Ever so subtly Sherasti reached out into his mind, projecting just the right illusion. In this case it was his comm link, a soft beeping issued from it. Only the sound was in his mind.
Head back to the control center.
The voice echoed faintly in Sherasti's mind as she projected it onto the guard. Her target reluctantly shook his head and headed back in the same direction he had come. As it went, the illusion had been relatively simple and straight forward
Rin could feel the man's presence diminishing into the distance, and with an audible sigh of relief the Togruta Padawan stepped up to her destination and with a slight wave of the hand unlatched the archaically styled doors to the ResCorp President's office.
Once inside she latched the door again behind her and allowed her eyes a moment to adjust more fully to the darkness. Then she looked around, silently wondering what could possess any person to live in such deception?
There had been no question the President had been lying earlier. Both Pedara and his Padawan had effortlessly noticed that much. And shortly after the meeting they had first been followed.
Sherasti's master was considerably wiser in the ways of the galaxy than the young apprentice, particularly in the matters of diplomacy, finance, and wealth that seemed to reappear endlessly. During one of his first lessons to the Togruta, Master Pedara had tried to explain what motivated the politicians, the businessmen, and the heirs of riches who made up the elite of society. The most puzzling had been profit. The idea of personal gain was not only contrary to the young Jedi's understanding of morality, but also went against the Togruta mentality of shared and integral society. It went against every fiber of her being, and over half a decade after that lesson she still struggled to understand it.
Hadn't it been enough for ResCorp to exist and flourish? Or were the extra credits all that mattered to the President?
Sherasti reached into the desk drawer, feeling around carefully until her hand rested on a slightly different texture. A hidden compartment. She pressed down gently, and felt a panel slide open. Inside were several datacards.
The Jedi checked each in turn, finding activities ranging from bribery to tax evasion. But the most interesting card was the evidence they had needed so desperately: the detailed plan and records of the attempt to murder and replace Kevra Vreed, the most trusted advisor to Senator Parin of Pantolomin.
And the motive was financial gain again. Sherasti felt herself pulled between contempt and sadness at the shallow existence being lived out. Ultimately she settled for sadness. Contempt meant superiority. And even if it was true, it was arrogance. And arrogance was pride, and pride was not becoming for a Jedi.
Rin pocketed the card in her robes and stepped out the door again, as she closed it again she belatedly sensed some sort of presence behind her. She turned abruptly and saw the guard from earlier, accompanied by two of his colleagues. Their blasters were drawn.
A thin-faced guard looked to the mustachioed man. "Good thing you came to me about this Denev, President Jarast doesn't want any witnesses."
The chill in his voice revealed his intentions even before his finger started to depress the trigger. But in a split second, Sherasti drew her lightsaber and ignited it with the familiar snap-hiss it made. Had she waited another second a flurry of blaster shots would have hit her, but instead they deflected harmlessly off the green, glowing blade and into the walls.
While her body moved as the force dictated, the Jedi's mind searched for a way out. The easiest way was to kill. But one of her first lessons as a Youngling had been that the quick and easy path often led to the dark side. That left creativity.
Down the corridor to the left there had been an ornate window overlooking a garden, a sign of opulence in the otherwise filthy urban sprawl. If she could backtrack to the window, it would be easy to cut through it and leap down into the garden. From there it was simple to scale a wall and find Master Pedara again. But the real challenge was to escape the guards in such a way as to distract them from her true target. But the Togruta Jedi had a plan. She smiled slightly, envisioning it carefully.
Her left hand raised and with a gesture she shoved the thin-faced guard across the room with the force. Then with all her focus gathered she created an illusion in the minds of the remaining two guards. A massive flash of light overwhelmed them both momentarily, appearing simply as a lighter shadow to the Jedi, after which an exact copy of herself fled down the opposite corridor toward the main entrance. It wasn't an illusion she could maintain for more than a few seconds, but it only took that long. Once the illusion rounded a corner it could be discontinued.
Rin deactivated her lightsaber and stepped back into the shadow, silently watching to see if her ruse would be successful. With a shout the guards arose, firing at the illusion and racing down the corridor after it.
The real Sherasti Rin simply walked silently down the shadowy corridor, cut the window swiftly, and with a leap landed silently on a grassy lawn.
She stopped momentarily to examine a flower, then scaled the outer wall and disappeared from sight.
Race: Togruta
Age: 24
Height: 6' (not including montrals)
Weight: 150 lbs
Appearance: Like all Togruta, she has the signature reddish colored skin, white facial markings and lips, and large striped lekku (head tails) and montrals (hollow horns and sensory organs). The striping on her montrals and lekku are chevron-shaped, and start as light blue at the top and darken progressively into a navy blue color at their tips, which rest at stomach height. Her facial features are not at all sharp, but are slightly narrow and high.
She is quite tall, and has a very attractive figure, though it is generally concealed by her clothing.
She wears the simple brown robes of the Order on her upper body, and a skirt on her lower with only the slightest embellishments, among them a Togruta sash. Like most of her species she prefers to go without shoes.
Her only permanent possessions are her lightsaber, her ornate tooled leather sash, and an akul-tooth headdress she earned on a mission to Shili, where she learned about her culture.
Sherasti has a rich accent, that can be best described as faintly Caribbean. It is not particularly strong, just a hint of color around the edges of her voice.
Image:
Personality: She is a contradiction in many ways, being an unusual blend of traditional Togruta behaviors and adopted human mannerisms. She is social like all Togruta, but values solitary meditation as well. She is not opposed to spending days or weeks in solitude (as most Togruta would), but would vehemently protest any longer period spent alone.
Frequently she is absorbed in thought, and often appears to be ignoring a conversation. However, that is merely appearance. She is generally aware of her surroundings, even if she doesn't show it.
At times she can be condescending to others, unwilling to take criticism, and dwells too heavily on her own failures.
She also possesses an unusual sense of humor, one best described as wry.
She is generally quiet and very serene, seemingly always in control of herself. She comes across as truly sagacious, a surprise to others given her young age but a quality slightly more common among Togruta. Another species trait she possesses is an unshakeable fidelity to the Jedi Order and its values.
Despite her aura of serenity, she also possesses a rather roguish streak. Sometimes she'll grace others with an impish smile that strangely doesn't seem to diminish her serenity at all.
She has a tendency to be self-conscious of her stature and figure, and tries to cover herself up to avoid being a distraction.
Birth place: Abregado-rae, Capital City.
Faction: Jedi
Rank: Knight (Consular)
Lightsaber: Single blade, curved hilt with guard.
Color: Green
Practiced Lightsaber forms:
Shii-Cho 5
Makashi 4
Soresu N/A
Ataru N/A
Shien / Djem So N/A
>>Sub-form Backhanded
Niman N/A
>>Sub-form Jar-kai, or Dual Wield
Juyo N/A
Double Bladed Combat
Force-Sensitive Abilities or practices: Standard, Force Illusion (currently developing and refining)
Telekinetic: 6
Telepathic: 7
Body: 2
Sense: 5
Protection: 3
Healing: 4
Destruction: 0
Specialized Skills:
Attributes:
Physical Strength: 4
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 5
Leadership: 4
Unarmed: 5
Melee Weapons: 1
Ranged Weapons: 1
Force Attunement: +6
Bio:
ORIGINS-
Born to a local healer (who died in childbirth) and a factory worker on Abregado-rae, Sherasti spent much of her early years on the street. She picked pockets, pan-handled, and gathered trash to help bring enough income into the family.
Life had been going poorly for her family ever since they made the rash decision to leave Shili for one of the Core Worlds, where they had hoped for a better livelihood. Instead they found poverty and an ever-worsening downward spiral of smaller and smaller meals and longer and longer work days.
What little income they had was increasingly taken up by taxes. They would have been able to scrape by if not for a trend against labor gaining ground. Unions were disbanded and the wages dropped dramatically, which caused little Sherasti to take to the streets gathering scrap metal and doing odd jobs instead of learning in school.
One day she attempted to pick-pocket a stranger, but her attempt was easily foiled. The stranger was a Jedi, who showed compassion on the child. Almost immediately the Jedi could tell Rin possessed higher force sensitivity than most of her species. After obtaining approval, the Jedi asked Sherasti's father to allow her to leave Abregado to become a Jedi. Her father gratefully accepted the chance to give his daughter a better life, and just before her sixth birthday Sherasti Rin became a Youngling.
YOUNGLING-
She had trouble fitting in with the others at first, having never learned the concept of trust on the streets. But with guidance from the Masters and from her peers, she was able to consider every Jedi a member of her family. It was an extension of her own engrained cultural behavior.
Being highly social helped as well, and she started to fit in.
Her own rather unusual upbringing helped her overcome one flaw deeply ingrained in the Togruta psyche. Rather than leaving behind those who couldn't keep up, she considered it a personal duty to help them stay with the group as best as possible. This trait frequently cast her in the role of assistant in situations rather than leader.
She soon became quite the peacemaker, with a knack for for calming tense situations. Her own natural intelligence quickly proved to be an asset as well, and despite her lack of early education she proved to be a voracious learner.
PADAWAN-
At 13, she became Padawan to the Jedi Knight (soon to be promoted to Master) Hult Pedara, a skilled Jedi Consular known for studying diplomacy. Here Sherasti continued to improve her skills, showing greater aptitude at use of the force than at swordsmanship. Nevertheless, through determined practice she managed to become proficient at Makashi as well as Shii-Cho, feeling the precise movements and reserved nature of the style were well-suited to her own philosophy of pure defense.
Under the tutelage of Pedara, she started to manifest more developed telepathic abilities. Force persuasion came easily to her, showing an affinity for the telepathic aspects of the force. Over time she built up on this affinity.
Rin continually furthered her mental skills, not only by heightening her awareness, but also developing a rare skill of her own: using the force to create illusions in the minds of others. Though the illusions only lasted a few seconds, the senior Jedi who were immediately consulted recognized them for what they were: the rare power of force illusion in its earliest stages.
Pedara impressed upon her the serious nature of the skill and the danger of its misuse, but fully encouraged the further pursuit of the skill. It became a daily task to practice, and Sherasti's progress was substantial. Her illusions became increasingly complex, extending beyond shallow and fixed representations of people, creatures, and objects. Though still in development, every day her confidence grew until she was able to, for a short time, simulate moving people and objects as well as sounds, voices, and stationary objects.
Together, the two Jedi carried out numerous diplomatic missions, once preventing an assassination attempt. Kevra Vreed, the Chief Advisor to the Pantolomin Senator (one of the heads of the Fleet Appropriations Committee) was attacked by an unidentified assassin during a consultation with Pedara and Rin on a goodwill trip to Pantolomin. Sherasti was severely injured in the initial attack and stayed with Kevra while Pedara chased after the assassin. Though the would-be killer escaped unscathed, the Jedi were able to follow the trail all the way to Eriadu. There they found an arms contractor had devised a detailed plan to eliminate Vreed and replace him with an impostor, all in order to have an inside man sending lucrative contracts to them.
Sanctions were placed on ResCorp and the principal architects of the plan were placed under arrest.
Rin's philosophy became increasingly concrete, until it was veritably set in stone. She resolved never to use the force for anything but defense (of herself or others),to never deny a reasonable request from someone in need, to always place the welfare of others above her own, and to take a life only as the last resort.
KNIGHTHOOD-
At the age of 23 she undertook the Trials. For her Test of Skill she was pitted against one of the Masters at the temple, an experienced Jedi Guardian, an Echani named Yarni. She succeeded in using Makashi to protect herself from aggressive styles with no small effort, and to prevent herself from being disarmed. She showed a remarkable ability to sidestep attacks and avoid the need to use her strength. Though not entirely sure of 'how,' they speculated her telepathic prowess was giving her insight into her opponent's moves slightly in advance. Though the duel ended in a draw, she had succeeded in conserving her own strength to an astonishing extent while wearing down her opponent's. Yarni yielded despite his best efforts. He had been battling to win, but Sherasti had been battling to a draw. Her goal had simply been to outlast rather than to score serious hits. It was a cunning use of Makashi in an unconventional role, one truly unique to herself. She was able to use it the same role some Jedi used Soresu, addressing her own inadequacy and limitations. Her left arm had virtually no strength thanks to its severe injury earlier, but she worker around it through minimal evasive movements.
When she refused to take the offensive against the tired Echani Guardian by demonstrating more aggressive styles, despite the urges and demands of the others, she was considered to have passed the Test of Courage by standing up for her own values despite pressure from her seniors.
The Trial of the Flesh was completed after the fact; in the foiled assassination she was seriously injured, losing much strength in and control over her left arm. Even after healing, her left arm still functions at a lower level than the right. This is another reason she relies heavily on Makashi, as it is a style suited to a single hand.
Her final Trial, that of the Spirit, took the form of deep meditation, during which she saw visions of a future without restraint in which her darkest inner thoughts violated each of her principles in turn. She still finds herself troubled by this today, and it serves as a constant reminder of the dangers of the dark side. It had taken her a full day to realize that moving beyond the vision rather than letting it endlessly torment her was the goal of the trial rather than exorcising the vision completely. It was healthy and wise to know the dangers for what they were.
Now she has been a Jedi Knight for a rather brief time, mediating various trade disputes and generally promoting peace.
She was assigned a Padawan named Xell Rayner at the request of the masters. His former master was walking a line perilously close to the dark side, and as a result the Padawan was transferred to Sherasti to finish his training. The six year age difference poses a slight problem, as does her attractive figure.
She is currently doing her best to carry out missions and to guide her Padawan along the proper path.
RP Sample:
Sherasti Rin stood in the dark corridor outside the now-empty conference room she had been in only three hours ago. ResCorp had been greatly unwilling to provide the right information, and neither Pedara nor Rin were willing to walk the perilous line between using the force to coax out information and dominating the mind of another. It had been decided that the Jedi would split up, the master distracting the tails following closely behind them ever since their first meeting.
Despite being a six foot tall Togruta, Sherasti seemed perfectly able to disappear in crowds. And the dense streets of Phelar, one of the largest industrial and population centers on the whole of Eriadu, provided ample opportunity to slip away unnoticed.
Entering the ResCorp building had been surprisingly easy, simply a matter of making a door in the right place. Now the Padawan was moving along silently in the darkness, her natural and force senses of awareness were serving her well. The shadowy corners were no mysteries to her, instead they were shelter from prying eyes. The stripes and rust coloration of the Togruta were now an asset; Rin blended into the shadows as naturally as a hand fits in the glove.
Up ahead the sound of gentle footsteps could be heard coming towards the door. In response the Jedi ducked a little deeper into the shadows and watched intently as the door opened. A crack of light appeared and a uniformed man stepped through, humming idly to himself and twirling his mustache. He wore the uniform of a company guard and carried himself with the relaxed bearing that indicated a mixture of boredom and confidence.
Ever so subtly Sherasti reached out into his mind, projecting just the right illusion. In this case it was his comm link, a soft beeping issued from it. Only the sound was in his mind.
Head back to the control center.
The voice echoed faintly in Sherasti's mind as she projected it onto the guard. Her target reluctantly shook his head and headed back in the same direction he had come. As it went, the illusion had been relatively simple and straight forward
Rin could feel the man's presence diminishing into the distance, and with an audible sigh of relief the Togruta Padawan stepped up to her destination and with a slight wave of the hand unlatched the archaically styled doors to the ResCorp President's office.
Once inside she latched the door again behind her and allowed her eyes a moment to adjust more fully to the darkness. Then she looked around, silently wondering what could possess any person to live in such deception?
There had been no question the President had been lying earlier. Both Pedara and his Padawan had effortlessly noticed that much. And shortly after the meeting they had first been followed.
Sherasti's master was considerably wiser in the ways of the galaxy than the young apprentice, particularly in the matters of diplomacy, finance, and wealth that seemed to reappear endlessly. During one of his first lessons to the Togruta, Master Pedara had tried to explain what motivated the politicians, the businessmen, and the heirs of riches who made up the elite of society. The most puzzling had been profit. The idea of personal gain was not only contrary to the young Jedi's understanding of morality, but also went against the Togruta mentality of shared and integral society. It went against every fiber of her being, and over half a decade after that lesson she still struggled to understand it.
Hadn't it been enough for ResCorp to exist and flourish? Or were the extra credits all that mattered to the President?
Sherasti reached into the desk drawer, feeling around carefully until her hand rested on a slightly different texture. A hidden compartment. She pressed down gently, and felt a panel slide open. Inside were several datacards.
The Jedi checked each in turn, finding activities ranging from bribery to tax evasion. But the most interesting card was the evidence they had needed so desperately: the detailed plan and records of the attempt to murder and replace Kevra Vreed, the most trusted advisor to Senator Parin of Pantolomin.
And the motive was financial gain again. Sherasti felt herself pulled between contempt and sadness at the shallow existence being lived out. Ultimately she settled for sadness. Contempt meant superiority. And even if it was true, it was arrogance. And arrogance was pride, and pride was not becoming for a Jedi.
Rin pocketed the card in her robes and stepped out the door again, as she closed it again she belatedly sensed some sort of presence behind her. She turned abruptly and saw the guard from earlier, accompanied by two of his colleagues. Their blasters were drawn.
A thin-faced guard looked to the mustachioed man. "Good thing you came to me about this Denev, President Jarast doesn't want any witnesses."
The chill in his voice revealed his intentions even before his finger started to depress the trigger. But in a split second, Sherasti drew her lightsaber and ignited it with the familiar snap-hiss it made. Had she waited another second a flurry of blaster shots would have hit her, but instead they deflected harmlessly off the green, glowing blade and into the walls.
While her body moved as the force dictated, the Jedi's mind searched for a way out. The easiest way was to kill. But one of her first lessons as a Youngling had been that the quick and easy path often led to the dark side. That left creativity.
Down the corridor to the left there had been an ornate window overlooking a garden, a sign of opulence in the otherwise filthy urban sprawl. If she could backtrack to the window, it would be easy to cut through it and leap down into the garden. From there it was simple to scale a wall and find Master Pedara again. But the real challenge was to escape the guards in such a way as to distract them from her true target. But the Togruta Jedi had a plan. She smiled slightly, envisioning it carefully.
Her left hand raised and with a gesture she shoved the thin-faced guard across the room with the force. Then with all her focus gathered she created an illusion in the minds of the remaining two guards. A massive flash of light overwhelmed them both momentarily, appearing simply as a lighter shadow to the Jedi, after which an exact copy of herself fled down the opposite corridor toward the main entrance. It wasn't an illusion she could maintain for more than a few seconds, but it only took that long. Once the illusion rounded a corner it could be discontinued.
Rin deactivated her lightsaber and stepped back into the shadow, silently watching to see if her ruse would be successful. With a shout the guards arose, firing at the illusion and racing down the corridor after it.
The real Sherasti Rin simply walked silently down the shadowy corridor, cut the window swiftly, and with a leap landed silently on a grassy lawn.
She stopped momentarily to examine a flower, then scaled the outer wall and disappeared from sight.
