Just Like Old Times [Lmr]

[Ghostie]

The blue streaks of hyperspace faded away as shuttle's drive off turned off. The stars turned back to their normal size and color. As the Jedi Knight looked out on the blue and green planet below, it was as if time stopped. Everything seemed peaceful from Space. The stars, the moons, the gem of Shili hanging amongst them.

But Sirius wasn't easily fooled. There was so much strife in the galaxy, especially now. While the Jedi were doing their best to help things, it seemed that even they couldn't stop everything. A padawan left the Order, abandoned it for the galaxy. Sirius was here to bring them back.

The Jedi in question was a Togruta named Aneer Tey. The Council said during Sirius's briefing that she had just recently lost her master, and that she was close to completing her Trials. With the combined stress of the Trials and the anxiety of finding a new master to complete them, Aneer had a nervous breakdown. She left the Temple, and attacked one of the Jedi Knight's that tried to stop her, breaking his arm. They believed she left for Shili, which is where Sirius decided to check first.

Shili would always hold a special place in his heart, and Sirius wasn't even a Togruta. It was the planet where he had completed his Trial of Courage by bringing down an Akul. It was here he and Teer Ka had finally bonded, or so he thought. And after witnessing it for himself, Shili had a unique culture, and it was a beautiful place.

Of course, Sirius had other reasons for coming to Shili as well. His old master, Teer Ka, was now the Jedi Watchman over the planet. It had only been about a month since Sirius's Knighting, most of which he had spent on Seraphim. But he hadn't really talked to or see Teer since then. He wanted to know how she was doing, how she was filling into her new role.

The shuttle Sirius was piloting broke through the atmosphere over Corvala. It was still early morning local time, about five or six. However, the Spaceport was always busy on Corvala, as it was the only city with one on Shili. The comm. cracked and came to life, and a voice with a thick Togruti accent came over the speaker.

“Jedi Shuttle XH-1138, The Council has already communicated with us and paid the fee. Your free to land on any open pad.”

“Thanks, can you patch me into the Order's office in Corvala?”

The voice on the comm. instantly died down, and the channel was switched. However, there was no answer on the comm., instead, Sirius heard a recorded message from the Jedi Order thanking him for his call and whatnot. He switched the comm. off, Sirius would have to let Teer know he was here the old fashion way.

Landing the shuttle in the large, Corvala Spaceport, Sirius took a speeder bike out of the bay as he left. He had no idea where Aneer went, and if she left the city, a vehicle would be nice to have. Despite the early time, Corvala was already bustling with traffic, people going to an from work, or doing whatever.

Sirius was dressed just like a normal person, with his olive green jacket and his blue denim pants. He even had his akul tooth necklace on underneath his jacket. The Jedi Knight reckoned that he could've fit into the crowd, if it wasn't for the fact he had a saber on his belt and he was human.

Sirius hoped on the speeder bike and went on his way. He didn't know his way around Corvala very well, but he at least knew where the Jedi Order's office was. He had visited it before with Teer, when he was here last. The building also housed some major parts of the Shili government and the Republic embassy. Needless to say, it was hard to find a spot for Sirius to slip the speeder bike into to park.

As he flew through Corvala, Sirius expanded his senses as far as he could. All Togruta where force-senstive, unlike most species. However, if there was a strong presence, Sirius would investigate it immediately. Though, he didn't find anything out of the ordinary. Which meant that Aneer most likely left the city.

Landing that the office, Sirius was surprised to find that it was already opened. He walked into a lobby which was unoccupied, except for a Togruta behind the desk. She looked tired, as if there was absolutely no reason for anyone to be up at this hour.

He was going to walk on by, find his own way to Teer's office. However, the Togruta spoke out the soonest he got to the lift. She spoke in a very monotone voice, with almost no accent.

“Hey, you gotta sign in.”

Sirius turned around in time to see her produce a clipboard and place it on the desk. He rolled his eyes, figuring that he probably didn't have the time for this.

“Even Jedi gotta obey the rules, hon.”

“You have no idea...”

Sirius hastily scribbled out the needed information as the receptionist looked on. She seemed only interested in making sure her job got done. Sirius didn't blame her, talking to people was probably the only thing she had to look forward to everyday.

Passing Sirius a badge with a clip that read 'Visitor', the Togruta took the clipboard back. She sipped a brown substance from a steamy cup, and then proceeded to give Sirius directions in that same monotone voice.

“Go up the lift two floors, and head left. There will be a sign reading 'Jedi' or whatnot. It's at the end of the hall. And don't loose that badge.”

Sirius didn't bother clipping the tag onto his jacket, and instead just held onto it. One short turbolift ride and a walk later, Sirius was standing outside of the door to Teer's new office, playing with his visitor badge. He knocked on the door, hoping she was in already. He was going to need her help if Aneer already left the city.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Teer's private secretary was sitting at her desk in the entrance to the Watchman's small niche in the multi-role office, and she saw Sirius enter, dutifully buzzing Master Ka to let her know of his arrival.

The youthful Togruta woman greeted Sirius politely and found out his intentions and name, relaying them to Teer through the intercom, which was when the door opened via the Force.

The office that was revealed was small, but nicely furnished. The walls were adorned with tribal art, there was wood scattered throughout the room in the form of tables, a perch bearing a certain grey and black striped bird, and a large desk, behind which was a very familiar severe Togruta woman, with a tranquil expression on her red face.

Master Teer Ka had been in the middle of filing her second monthly report to the Council, which was a laborious task she wasn't exactly thrilled with. Nevertheless, she'd done it because it was her duty, and the Togruta Master never shirked her duty.

When she'd heard she'd had a visitor Teer had inquired to her secretary, and the second she heard the name Sirius Kelrune, she opened the door from her seat and reached out with the Force, confirming it was him. Then she'd set the report back down and rose from her seat, coming up to her full height, which was slightly taller than average for a woman, and she tugged at the brown leather jerkin she wore, her bare arms adorned with primitive jewelry on the right and a bracer on the left.

Teer placed her palms together and bowed her head in a gesture of greeting to Sirius, straightening and allowing a pleased expression to creep onto her stern visage.

"Sirius," The Togruta Jedi said with pleasure in her husky voice. "I wasn't expecting to see you today. Please come in, be seated."

[Ghostie]

Sirius bowed back with a smile, hands in the pockets of his jacket. He was pleased to see Teer, and she was pleased to see him. She greeted him and invited the Knight into her office, as if this was a common, everyday thing.

"It's nice to see you too, Master Ka."

Sirius was surprised to see her office decorated the way it was. Her quarters back the the Temple were usually barren, with only the necessary furniture. Instead, here there was tribal paintings, and quite a few of them in all sorts of varying sizes.

A large desk took the center of the room, as if it the center stage. It was the first thing that came to someone's attention And it was probably carved to be that way. In front of it were two chairs, made out of the same color of wood and padded. Behind the desk was a perch, on which sat a bird Sirius had heard about before, but never met.

“Ah, that must be Ashla.”

Sirius smiled at the bird, and it cocked it's head at him. Reaching out through the Force, Sirius trying to leave an impression on the bird that he was friendly. All it did was squawk at him. Sirius got the distinct impression that Ashla didn't like him very much.

“Sorry.”

Sirius gave an apologetic look to Teer and sat down. Sirius waited for the Togruta Jedi Maste to sit before starting. He wished he could visit more, but he didn't have the time. Not right now at least. He took a small, hand-held holoprojector out of his jacket pocket, but didn't flip it on yet.

“I would really love to visit Master Ka, but I've got some business to take care of here. I was wondering if you could help me. This...”

Sirius flipped on the holoprojector. It showed an imagine of Aneer Tey, the Togruta padawan he was after. The image was about two and a half feet tall, and blue like most holograms. It showed Aneer in her Jedi robes, so it was hard to tell if she was attractive or not. The Togruta had an oval shaped face and intense back eyes. Her montrals were adorned with an akul headdress, much like Teer's own.

“... Is Aneer Tey. She was a padawan in the Order, until a couple of days ago. She had a nervous breakdown, a combination of loosing her master and the Trials bearing down. She's known to be violent, as she attacked a Knight trying to stop her from leaving the Temple.”

Sirius flipped a switch on the device again. This time it showed a top down view of a security camera, with an angle to the left. A Bothan male dressed in Jedi robes had his hand out, trying to tell Aneer to stop. She grabbed his arm with one hand, and with the other swung a blow to the back of his elbow, effective crippling the Knight. Sirius turned off the display after that.

“I've been sent to bring her back to the Temple. I think she's left the city by now, but I can't be certain. I was wondering if you could help. You have such a vast knowledge of all the tribes, it would make tracking her easier. And it would be just like old times.”

Old times, of course, meaning longer than a month ago. But still, Teer got the picture. They could visit while traveling. And being that this was Sirius first real mission as a Knight, he could use some guidance.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

Teer sat silently as she listened to Sirius talk, watching the holograms that he produced, taking in the face of the Jedi deserter. Perhaps twenty years old, still young, clearly impressionable and gone astray.

But not, perhaps, without hope for redemption. While Master Ka was always skeptical of battlefield conversions as a ploy, it pained her to think of losing a Jedi Padawan in such a way. And it didn't appear she had fallen to the Dark Side per se, though that was always a threat when a Jedi acted out of anger.

While Teer was confident Sirius could handle this, she did not intend to deny his request for assistance. While he didn't need her help, the Togruta woman wasn't going to pass by the opportunity to work with her star pupil once more. She was going to savor it because, as he said, it was just like old times, though admittedly that only dated back a little over a year.

Master Ka nodded her assent and rose from her seat, crossing over to Ashla and putting the bird up onto her shoulder before looking to Sirius and dispensing her own information.

"Tey is a tribe not far from here, it's likely this Padawan travelled to her home for solace. I hope we can make her see reason."

Teer sighed as she scratched the feathers on the back of her pet's neck, prompting a slight huffing noise and a nuzzle from the creature's beak.

"I don't expect you to understand Sirius, but I've seen enough death and destruction for my lifetime. I'll come with you, but to avert tragedy, not to further it."

As much as she would have hated to admit it a year ago, Teer felt distinct empathy for her kin gone astray. Master Ka herself still felt a pang of loss when she thought about her ancient master dying on Dantooine during the invasion, and it had only been worse when served fresh.

The last thing this Aneer Tey needed was to suffer further. Teer hoped she could make the girl see reason, to return to the Order without fighting and without violence.

[Ghostie]

The Jedi Knight put the holoprojector back in his pocket. Sirius watched Teer stand up and get Ashla, who proceeded to climb over the Togruta. It looked at him with what Sirius deemed was a crazy eye before giving it's full attention to Teer.

Yeah, he definitely didn't like the bird.

The Jedi Master proceeded to tell him that Tey was a tribe not far from the city. That was a good thing, at least she could point him in the right direction. But then she went even further, saying that she would after all accompany him.

But only to prevent more violence, not cause it. Teer didn't want to see more people get hurt. Sirius understood where she was coming from. Peace was suppose to be way of the Jedi. Still, they had positions like Weapons Master and Shadow for a reason. Sometimes, action had to be met with action.

Sirius nodded in understanding at Teer. He followed her out of the office, into the hallway, and onto the lift. This is went Sirius started to strike up a conversation.

“How has your new position treated you? I assume you'd be rather... lonely.”

Sirius look another look at Ashla. Companions such as pets were nice and all, but they were nothing compared to a real person in Sirius's opinion. He'd take a partner over a pet any day of the week.

The exited into the lobby and proceeded outside, Sirius waiting for Teer to tell him which speeder to go to. They might've been able to make it to the tribe on Sirius's speeder bike, but not if Teer kept Ashla with her. He had yet to see why she even brought the bird.

[Lemur, The Kool-Aid Guy]

As they rode in the lift, Sirius hit the nail directly on the head, touching on a nerve Teer carried around with her. Loneliness.

Master Ka was semi-reclusive by nature, but she found it essential to engage in interactions, and since leaving Coruscant she'd found it a little hard to adjust. While immersion in idyllic nature was exhilarating for her, and the chance to speak her native language every day was gratifying, in the end she was even further removed from the Jedi Order.

Here she had no peers and she had no one to train and to practice with. For all practical purposes she was alone, and it was compounded by the fact that the Togruta woman hadn't 'made friends' since she was a Youngling five decades ago. Now she was an adult, and on the very end of her prime at that, and she had precious little opportunity to interact.

Sadly, Ashla was her truest companion now, and while the bird was surprisingly astute and responsive, she was still not a sentient being.

Teer had thought of taking on another Padawan, or perhaps two, but she wanted to wait until she was settled in fully, so she could afford the correct level of attention and care that she'd discovered instruction required.

In the interim, she was indeed alone, and that wasn't something she relished.

"I admit," Teer said tentatively, "That I have been lonely."

This level of confidence was rare for her. Normally Master Ka internalized her problems, dealing with them all herself. She was extremely self-reliant and resourceful, and one side-effect of that was her own difficulty in finding someone to confide in. Certainly never while Sirius had been her Padawan would she have discussed this with him, but now he was no longer her responsibility and she felt more at ease in casual conversation with him.

"I love Shili and my people dearly, but it is often a lonely existence."

Teer's mind strayed to the long stretches of travel through the scrub on her speeder bike, devoid of all contact with beings who could speak. Sometimes she enjoyed that solitude, but at other times it weighed on her mind, and it felt bittersweet. Only the warm hospitality in every village set her mind at ease, for a while at least. And then the cycle continued.

The duo of Jedi reached the street, and Teer approached her own speeder-bike, a simple model with a sidecar attached to the left and a frame for cargo to be attached. On it was resting her usual survival equipment and a spare pair of clothes.

"If we take her back with us a spare seat might be valuable. Follow me on your own speeder bike," Master Ka instructed in her characteristically concise and calm manner. She had a way for laying down facts and plans smoothly, and for inspiring confidence. She'd also worked with Sirius long enough for him to have confidence and obedience when it came to each of her instructions.

The Togruta Jedi guided Ashla off of her shoulder, setting the bird down into the sidecar, whispering soothing words to her in Togruti. Then she straddled the bike and turned on the engine, the whine of the repulsor cutting through the quiet air.

And then it was time to travel, to carry out their first mission together not as Master and Padawan.