Ardor and Angst

[Neive Undant]

Prazutis chuckled, thinking to himself as the Jedi lead the girl away.
"I assure you, we will, at one time or another. Until then, farewell." He looked to the Jedi. Definitely no master, he thought. Trying to avoid attention, as usual from the Jedi who are found in imperial territory. However, after a small disturbance in the force, Prazutis looked up at one of the windows of the building... was there another one among them with the Jedi?
It mattered not, he thought.
bringing up his comm link, he spoke.
"I need a watcher on the two leaving quintari cafe. Both of them Force users, do not engage." He stood, a holographic map on his comm activating. He looked at it for a moment before two dots pinged onto the holographic map. Prazutis smiled behind the helmet before putting the comm away, walking out and following the two.

"First lesson, youngling. Presence. Especially in a place like this, you cannot let anyone know you are a Jedi. Not that we aren't proud, but it brings unwanted attention... as evident by him." The man spoke, looking back at the girl.
"The inquisitors are a range of force users. Some follow the light, others... the Dark Side. and that one was most definitely the latter. You need to be careful." The man spoke, a bit of anxiety in his voice. After what he had heard happen to Jedi Ro Shan, he didn't want any part of this... Prazutis.

[Sophii Zahra]

Sophii felt a huge relief as she followed the blind Jedi away from the cafe. The last thing she needed right now was violence, especially while she was still in Impirial Space.

Of course, he had already started to berate her on her foolishness in revealing herself as a Jedi, but she didn't mind, as long as they were moving away from that Darksider and toward a Temple.

"I understand," she murmured as she tossed her hood over her horns and matched pace with the older Jedi. "But he approached me and I decided to keep him preoccupied in conversation rather than trying to run and risk missing you. Also, I'm not a youngling anymore. I just had my sixteenth birthday a week ago; the same day my father contacted your Masters."

They moved steadily down the street, parallel to the Spaceport entrance, but Sophii noticed that her guide didn't seem to make any moves to cross the street. She noticed at the same time that she could still perceve the Inquisitor behind her. "I think we are being followed," she whispered, a hint of franticness in her voice. "Where is your ship?"

[Neive Undant]

Darren chuckled, looking back as he kept walking.
"Ah, you misunderstand. Until you become a padawan, you haven't begun your journey. And that makes you a Youngling, someone who may or may not be a child, but has ability in the force they have not learned to use."
Darren looked around the spaceport for a second, recalling the flow of the force where he had been. He pointed down the hallway to their right.
"That way, port 21-C. Should be the third port on the left. Go there, if I'm not on board and you see him, activate the ship's auto pilot. I have an ally here that should join us before we depart, but if you see Prazutis, you don't hesitate. Understand?" He looked back, unclipping a small metal hilt from his belt.
"Hurry. Hopefully either I or my friend will reach you soon. And if not, the auto pilot will take you where you need to go."
once she had left, the man waited...
He couldn't let another youngling fall to the dark side. Especially at the hands of someone as merciless and despicable as him.


Prazutis walked through the halls of the spaceport, seeing the two presences break apart. It seemed the Jedi would stay behind. Good enough for him, he thought. One Jedi entering the ranks, another falling at Prazutis' blade.
Prazutis brought his lightsaber up to his hand, letting it remain stagnant until he faced the Jedi. At the sight of the two men staring each other down, the crowd around them dwindled, civilians moving away from them to avoid themselves becoming collateral damage. Prazutis chuckled for a second as he watched the movements of the man in front of him. He waited for something, a small noise, a distraction... to take his shot at the Jedi.

[Kubu Midwan]

Quickly the cloaked being moved to catch up to get to the transport. They only saw the girl, a noise of the sound of a shot rang out. "Quickly get on." They said with urgency. Once the girl and them were on they took the helm. "Sorry we couldn't meet up before, master Nasici." She said.

[Ben Kenobi]

Imperial Space, as per the stereotype, it was dense with enforcement agencies and the long arm of the Imperial Justice system. Often on backwaters such as this the ‘justice’ was whatever the local Imperial Governor desired at the time of his rise for the day. On other occasions it was a brutal yet efficient manner of order that kept criminal occurrences down due to very harsh and open punishments at the expense of having the polished boot of the Empire set right on the necks of its own citizenry. Some would argue the value of security over personal freedom, others would sell their lives dearly for the freedom stolen away. It was a cycle of unending patterns that had claimed their hold upon this Galaxy for now over thirty standard years and it didn’t even look close to loosening its deadly grip anytime soon.

For Ben Kenobi, it wasn’t a matter of duty or responsibility, those days were behind him now. Far away in his youth when he’d served during the First Galactic Civil War. Now it was a matter of opportunity. Not in the means of credits to be had through bribery and selfish desires, but rather the opportunity to do well in the eyes of the Force itself.

For the Jedi Coalition, the duty of peacekeeping was a full time occupation back in Alliance Space. Their unending toils of service to the people gave them little time to go where they were truthfully needed. Not to mention their limited numbers. Though as a Sentinel, Kenobi’s path was drawn towards where those that knew who or what he was would call him outlaw and wanted; dead or alive. In these reaches of Imperial Space, discretion was important when reaching out to help the beleaguered souls of the Empire’s oppressed. Indeed, the opportunities were many and one didn’t have to look very hard to find them.

This situation was just one such moment. He was standing aside as the commotion exploded. Asori Spero was with him, they often worked in tandem nowadays. Though the moment the chaos erupted Asori vanished, her mission now was to support in whatever way she could and she supposed that behind the scenes was best for the moment. Ben, however, observed and was able to identify the scene as it unfolded. Without question, an Imperial Inquisitor was ravaging his way after several beings like a being of mass demolition. Before him stood what was undoubtedly a Jedi in the open.

Instantly Ben winced, discretion was key. Absolute key to not only personal survival but for the protection of innocents nearby. The Jedi had clearly made mistakes in exposing himself. Initially Ben stepped forward to intervene on the Jedi’s behalf, though something stopped him. Other individuals were pressing away with haste, this was a moment of sacrifice. Buying time so that others may yet live.

He looked to the Inquisitor, together they could defend and put the attacker at bay. Quell the incident before it became worse. But this was Imperial Space, not Alliance. If the Inquisitor became outnumbered or thought he was in a bad way, he would call for help and with their power of authority the entire planet could be locked down. No, charging out there and valiantly standing beside the Jedi would do his action no service nor would it do well for the fleeing members of his party. The choice was obvious, he lifted up his staff and ran after the fleeing pair which he easily caught up with.

“I know of a way out of here. But we must hurry, the Imperials will not be pleased once they discover they’ve lost your trail.”

He knew he hadn’t introduced himself, but this in itself was a test. A test of the discerning eye for this was the life that they were choosing. A life in which they’d have to make split second decisions where lives would absolutely be altered. A life where even the simple trust of a stranger could open a door… or close it shut with resounding force…

[Sophii Zahra]

The man's answer to her protest, while unsurprising, didn't exactly please her. She had fought with her father for days over her decision to set off and be trained as a Jedi, and he only accepted it and decided to help her when he had come to terms with the fact that she was legally an adult and it was better to help her than see her loose her way before she had a real chance. Now it seemed that she would be starting again from nearly the beginning.

She looked down the hallway where the Jedi described the docking bay, then looked back at him as he took his weapon into his hand. She had expected him to come with her, to guard her the whole way, but now he had other plans. No doubt he'd been ordered to retrieve her at all costs, and he was prepared to fight the Inquisitor head-on just to give her the time to escape. Sophii hesitated for a second, memorizing what she could about the man in case she met him again. "May the Force be with you," she said quietly before turning and striding directly toward Port 21-C.

As she wove her way through the press of bodies, the Zabrak noticed that many people were moving in the same direction to get away from the fight that was obviously about to unfold. Casting her senses outward, she confirmed that Prazutis was indeed there and preparing to attack the man who had taken her from his clutches. She then reached around to determine weather the other Jedi was nearby, or if there were other threats. Thankfully she found the former first, in the form of a Human. Looking him up and down in half a second, she settled her violet eyes upon his and said "Show me," in a terse tone that- surprisingly- didn't belie a fraction of the panic she felt welling deep in her belly.

[Neive Undant]

A single blaster bolt. Striking the ground at the jedi’s Feet, perhaps a warning shot, perhaps something to distract. But in any case, is got the Jedi to look away for a second.

And Prazutis moved to take advantage.

Both of them opened their sabers, Malakai taking a step back as Prazutis charged forward, taking a long swing that Malakai blocked. Prazutis ran past and pushed his feet against the wall of the spaceport, pushing off and swinging his blade again. The athleticism of a Nightbrother, even when not aided by the force.
Malakai brought his blade up, deflecting again before he went on the offensive, sending quick side strikes towards Prazutis, who observed the fighting pattern of the man as he blocked, one at a time before sending a shoulder into the chest of he jedi, knocking him back a few feet before Prazutis pushed his hand out. The Jedi was sent flying back down the hall before he rolled back, planting his feet down as he held his saber. The Jedi ran forwards again, pulling back before delivering a powered swing. Prazutis pulled back to deflect, but as he swung, he closed the blade of his saber and ducked down, the Jedi’s blue blade swung overhead before Prazutis’ own red blade ignited once more and swung back. The Jedi jumped forward, off balance as he rolled back to his feet. He felt a small burning on his back... the hairs on his back had been singed by the blade, and a very small, carterized wound was there. Barely noticeable, but if he had been a split second later, he would have been killed.

“Enough of this.” Prazutis said as he almost casually walked towards the Jedi, putting his saber in his left hand. The Jedi ran forward again, aiming a swing at the neck of the inquisitor.

Prazutis balled up his right fist, the cybernetic limb with the connected gauntlet pulled up as the blade came down.
As the purple material on the outside of his gauntlet was struck by the saber, the blade bounced off.

And Prazutis, during the shock and confusion that the Jedi felt by the deflection of his blade, took the opportunity to drive his blade into the chest of he Jedi.

[Ben Kenobi]

Ben could feel the loss ripple through the Force. It was a saddening thing, yet it also was the Jedi’s choice to remain in the face of imminent danger. There was no sacrifice more noble than the knowing sacrifice of one’s life for his fellows. He looked away from the tragedy and towards the girl, he nodded her acceptance of his offer and he turned to the speeder that awaited them and boarded it. His practiced hands worked the control panel swiftly and the engines roared to life. Once everyone that needed to be aboard was, he engaged the drives and the speeder shot off into the distance, diving down through the habs and clustered sectors of commerce.

He wove the speeder intently through twists and turns aplenty, should anyone have been following them it would take someone of considerable skill to make the pursuit fruitful. Eventually they sped out to the reaches of an industrial sector where columns of smoke rose high and traffic seemed to die out save for convoys of service droids moving to and fro their daily dues.

For the moment they were safe and so he slowed the pace of the speeder to something more comfortable where the wind wouldn’t steal their words away and he spoke aloud. “I’m sorry I couldn’t intervene earlier, I am Ben Kenobi, and I’m here to help. I can get you off planet, but from there, where is it you need to go?”

His mission here was finished, he couldn’t possibly continue it under the eyes of the inquisition. They would all have to depart this world and pursue other goals, for this one was a lost one. If they continued to operate the people would suffer from the scrutiny of the Imperial Inquisition. No one needed such things. But one thing was very important, Ben now knew the name of a particular Inquisitor; Prazutis, and he was certain that they would be crossing paths again. Be it in the near future or not, he and the Inquisition would have a reckoning.

[Neive Undant]

Prazutis slowly walked towards where he had seen the speeder soar away from the scene. A stormtrooper approached prazutis, looking in the same direction.
"Should we lock down the planet, sir? Pursue them?"
Prazutis thought for a moment, remembering the same brown robe he saw there as the one on permafrost... the one on Dromund kaas... and on the ship above Randon.
"No. Let them go, we've already killed one of them. Collect the body, I want it transported to Utopia."
The trooper looked at Prazutis, confused for a moment before he walked away. Prazutis sighed, thinking.
"Run, Ben... Run. You only prolong the inevitable. One way or the other, whether it takes an army or me alone... I'll have your head." He narrowed his eyes, remembering the same man he saved from the spire prison, who he came to for advice not too long after... now finally back in the fight.
"Heh... I've never seen you in better shape. Hope you can keep yourself that way." Prazutis said before walking back towards his own ship. This jedi who now lay dead at his feet... He was reluctant to bring the body back to Utopia... but the ache in his stomach, the strange glow that all force users emitted... He needed to figure out what was happening to him. He felt... weak. Drained. He needed something, and it was something this Jedi now possessed... but what?

[Sophii Zahra]

As she followed the older man- presumably another Jedi- Sophii could hear the fight starting behind her. The chatter and clamoring of the crowd grew louder, as did the tumultuous waves of the Force from the periphery of her sphere of awareness. Within seconds, the pair had arrived at a speeder and the older man hopped in.

The young Zabrak froze just as her hands touched the speeder's door. This was a disturbance the likes of which she had never experienced before. The blind Jedi's Song had been rising to a bright cresendo against the deep, relentless thrum blazing from Inquisitor, but all of a sudden it had been overcome. His Song had been cut short at it's hight, and now waned into Oblivion under the Darksider's heavy chords.

Sophii's eyes lost focus and welled up. She clenched her fists. The man was dead. She had never known death, but this was unmistakeable. He had stayed to buy her time, and the lying bastard behind that heavy armor had killed him.

She punched the speeder with a short cry of rage, leaving a sizable dent in the door. With a glance up, she met eyes with her new guardian and quickly hopped into the seat beside him, unholstering and checking her blaster as he took off into the street.

After several minutes with no sign of persuit, Sophii put her weapon back in it's holster on her left thigh. She kept her eyes down turned, studied her hands and the matte silvery grey cloth of her pants. She didn't need to look to know that the Jedi beside her would be concerned about her outburst. She just hoped that it wouldn't reflect too badly if he mentioned it to the Council.

When they eventually got to the outer edges of Junction City, she learned the man's name and perked up slightly before turning to study his face.
"My name is Sophii Zahra," she said, with a voice steady and solumn. "I was meant to meet with that other man and go to Koda station, but at this point I just need passage to the nearest Temple. I am going to become a Jedi."