The Rebel Faction

Indeed, ‘what the f*ck’.

It certainly explained why she felt a kinship to the girl: seems the poor girl when under some kind of genetic experimentation.

Like her.

Asri shuddered at the sudden memory of the horrors that were done to her. The fear….the pain. Worse though was the betrayal by a member of her own family that ‘put’ her in that….that….place in the first place. Granted it wasn’t nearly as bad consider she expected that kind of backstabbing from her race but still…

“Seems I have more in common with her then I realized.” She said softly, mainly to herself but was loud enough for Maskis to hear. “If what you just said means what I think it does…gods…the betrayal she’ll no doubt feel if she discovers it. By someone she trusted and considered a father figure on top of it….”

Whatever was done to Lavality it must have been a by a similar means as how it was done to her. Thinking about it though reminded her of the ‘things’ in her own bloodstream. Oh gods the pain she felt when they were initially…

“Can we change the subject to something pleasant?” She said, whining faintly as she wrapped her arms around herself in a futile attempt to drive away the chill in her spine.

"It's alright...you couldn't have known." Asri said calmly, still shivering slightly from the memories that had surfaced. A part of her was afraid she had revealed too much about herself to him, but what's done has been done. "Yes, lets go see if those two are ready."

It was a short walk to Silonik's room and as just as they reached the door it opened to reveal Silonik in normal clothes rather then standard padawan clothing. Mortor was dressed similiarly, but when he saw her he took a couple of steps back: Asri could already guess why.

"I change my mind..." The younger Trandoshan muttered. "I don't want to go."

"But Mortor." Silonik protested, puzzled by his friends sudden change of heart. "You may not get another chance to go."

"Don' care." Mortor said, backing up even more, his eyes afixed on Asri, particuarlly her white scales.

Skrag...even kids this young our taught to... Asri thought with a sigh before kneeling down in front of Mortor and looking at him in the eyes. "What did your parents tell you about people like me?" She asked gently.

"Bad." Mortor said simply. "That you're bad."

"And what reason did they give for that?" She asked, having to fight hard not to snap at the lad. "Have they ever met me? Did they know me?"

"I...I don't think so...."

"Then they are judging me solely by the color of my scales rather then the person I am within. You're training as a Jedi would have taught you otherwise."

"Jedi don't judge people by their looks." Silonik said. "Looks mean nothing when it comes to a persons intent and character."

Asri couldn't help but smile. Barely three years old and he has the wisdom of a Jedi Master. "Appearances are decieving." She added. "The cute and cuddly can be the most deadly things in the world, while the ugliest creatures in the galaxy are as gentle as a tame tusk cat. With that in mind young Mortor, do you still want to stay here and skip a chance at a day of fun?"

Mortor stared at her, briefly looking at Silonik who had a pleading look on his face. The conflict between what his parents taught him and his Jedi training was very evident in his eyes. Finally, his Jedi training won out. "Alright...I'll go..." He said softly.

Again Asri smiled. "Then lets get going." She said. "The carnival won't wait for us."

Silonik was gleefully skipping as they made their way out of the Academy, while Mortor was following slightly behind Asri, still not complete sure about the white Trandoshan. Once out of the Academy, Asri had to ask for directions to where the carnival was at, as the directions had simply said 'main plaza' and not being a native to Theed, she had no idea where the 'main plaza' was. Turned out though that all she had to do was walk out a bit and look up, as the tops of the tallest rides could be seen above the buildings, then just head in that direction. Asri didn't notice Maskis stop and plunge into a state of deep thought, nor did her two young charges, as they approached the carnival grounds.

She ended up being as awed as the kids by the sight of the carnival grounds. So many different colors and lights adorned the pitched up tents, competing to grab your attention. The attendants were just as as colorful, though Asri didn't care much for their costumes: they looked more like they belonged to a clown show then ordinary booth attendants. There was a good sized line ahead of them and Asri worried about the patience of the kids wearing out, but they were either too busy ogling at all the pretty colors or their Jedi training taught them patience young Trandoshans normally didn't have at that age. She knew for sure that if Trissan was with them, she would be forced to hold his hand tightly to keep him from running off.

It was finally when she reached the ticket agent that she noticed that Maskis wasn't with them. Looking around she didn't see him anywhere: just where did that male disappear too? Must have gotten lost. She thought.

The attendant cleared his throat, getting her attention and her white scales flushed briefly in embarrassment when she realized she was holding up the line. "Sorry." She said apologetically. "One adult, two kids under five." He'll just have to pay for his own then. She thought, not wanting to hold up the line any more waiting for the slow poke.

The attendant rang up the cost and Asri passed the appropriate number of credits in exchange for the admittance tickets. Now it was another line of those waiting their turn to enter the grounds itself, but thankfully this line went fast and within a moment they were inside.

"Well kids." She said to Silonik and Mortor, pausing to the side of the main 'plaza' of the grounds. "What did you want to do first?" The two kids looked around, eyes wide and obviously overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds, thus couldn't answer. "Ok, how about this. We'll walk around and do things as we see them ok?" Two Trandoshan heads bobbed in acknowledgement. "Oh and...any games we play...no cheating by using the Force, got it?"

"Awww...." They both said in unison. "O...k...."

Not that I would know if they used the Force or not. Asri thought with a chuckle, knowing she'll just have to hope their training made them honor bound to keep their word.

The carnival had your typical booths and activities, ranging from the standard food and game booths, to the house of mirrors, rides of various types and so on. The rides the kids wanted to go on they were too small for, which Asri was thankful for as they intimidated even her. She jokingly wondered if Trazu would be tall enough for any of these rides, pity he wasn't here to test the theory. Then again, it would probably be a good thing he wasn't here as knowing how sensitive he was about his height, he'd probably assault the attendant when the lad told him he was too short for the ride. An amusing event to watch, but one that would get them kicked out for sure.

The kids hit the game booths next and as far as she could tell neither of the pair cheated by tapping into the Force to help them guide the various balls, darts, and what not to their targets, the fact they barely won anything was a good indication. Asri joined in on the fun, though she did about as bad as the kids. It was all in good fun though, so she didn't mind. At least it was fun until a Trandoshan booth keeper caught sight of her.

"My my, where's the head master." The male said scathingly. "I found a new side show attraction for him to display for mocking." Asri ignored him, but this guy wasn't going to be put off. "Or perhaps a new victim for the dunk tank? Or how about as a pie throwing target? Oh! I know! A target in the shooting gallery!"

He was getting loud and people were starting to stare at her. The Twi'lek that was manning the booth she was at while she was trying to throw a ball at a pyramid-style stack of bottles, shook his head helplessly and apologized for fellow carnie's behavior, siting that he was normally a very friendly fellow. Still Asri's skin was crawling at the insults this male was spewing and the kids looked nervous and disgusted. Oh how she wanted to punch him in the snout, but she didn't want to totally ruin the kids day of fun by getting them kicked out for her actions. Yet she didn't want to just walk away and give him the impression he had won. Looking at the ball in her hand, she got an idea.

"Silonik." She said quietly in Clan Dialect so the male wouldn't understand her. "Jast this enco, aso tho Force te gaido this bull right inte his sneat."

Silonik glanced at the jeering male and back at Asri, considering if this was a good idea or not. With the male's insults getting to him as well, he smiled and nodded, readying himself for the right moment.

Obviously, the male continued to taunt her as she pretended to continue to ignore him and size up the distance to the bottle pyramid. Asri suddenly sharply drew back her arm releasing the ball when it was at the point of her motion where she would have normally started her forward throwing motion. As requested, Silonik seized the ball with the Force and hurled it at the male, smacking him hard in the snout before he could even react. With a cry of pain he held his snout, backing into the targets of his own throwing game and knocking them over.

"Oh my goodness..." Asri said, turning around with one hand over her mouth in mock embarrassment...and hiding the smirking grin she now bore. "I am so sorry. Are you alright?"

The male snarled, growling a few swear words at her. Asri put on an appalled expression.

"My word!" She said exaggeratedly. "Such language! And front of the innocent children!" She gathered Silonik and Mortor close to her, as if to shield him from his foul language: the pair were doing their best not to giggle out loud. "You should be ashamed of yourself!"

People were glaring at him now, including attendants at neighboring booths. Suddenly aware he was made a fool, he seemed to shrink in size as he tried to hide behind his counter. Feeling the man had been 'punished' enough, she looked down at her two charges. "Come on you two, we know which booth won't be getting any of 'our' hard earned credits." She said as she picked up the ball and handed it back to the Twi'lek, who simply smiled and winked at her knowingly. Considering how vocal the exchange had been, there would be little surprise if that male got much business for the rest of the day.

Asri and the kids actually hadn't gone very far when they heard the crash, a faint cloud of dust drifting toward them as a result. Looking back, Asri pondered the source of the sudden noise.

"That sounded like it came from Mr. Foulmouth's booth." She muttered, the kids giggling at the nickname she had given him. "He piss someone else off now?" Considering the male to be no longer of her concern she turned her attention back to watching a male try his luck at the strength test game and whom failed miserably. Asri was next in line and had just handed the attendant her credits when Silonik suddenly visibly stiffened.

"What's wrong hun?" She said, looking down at him. Worryingly Silonik didn't answer, instead looking around nervously. On top of that Mortor was now acting the same way. She gathered the Force must be warning them of something, but what?

She looked around for signs of a threat. There was the sound of a fight nearby, but with a line of booths between them and the skirmish it was doubtful that was what was bothering them. Instinctively she gathered the kids closer to her, a faint snarl on her lips as she tried hard to sense what was making the kids nervous. Unfortunately the sounds of the crowd around them made it next to impossible to hear anything unusual and the nearby fight didn't help any.

"Mam." The attendant said, getting her attention. "You going to play or not?"

Asri turned around to respond when she saw the shimmer briefly and knew immediately what it meant. The kids reacted quicker then she did though, the pair of them blasting the cloaked figure a Force push the instant she had recognized the shimmer for want it was. It was rather humorous, seeing 'nothing' slam into the strength tester device, sending the weight skyrocketing to the top and ringing the bell. Even funnier was when the weight came back down again, smacking the already dazed, now de-cloaking, figure in the head. The revealed human just had 'Bounty Hunter' all over him and with a growl, Asri walked over to him and punched him in the face before he could recover, knocking the man unconscious.

"Bounty Hunters...." She growled. "Can't have a day of innocent fun without them."

"Uh..." The stunned attendant looked at the downed Bounty Hunter and back at Asri. "What prize did you want?"

Asri blinked confused for a moment, the laughed when she realized she did pay for play and won...albeit unusually so. "Let the kids chose. They are the ones that deserve it." She said.

While Asri and the attendant called security, the kids argued over what prize they wanted. Silonik wanted the plastic sword, while Mortor wanted the plastic helmet that was modeled after a Mandolorian helmet. After several minutes of arguing the attendant had enough and just give them both a prize and by that time the Naboo Police had arrived to take away the still unconscious Bounty Hunter.

The appearance of this Bounty Hunter though worried Asri and she found herself looking in the direction of the still ongoing fight, of which security looked unwilling to get close to. It was quite likely there was more then one Bounty Hunter around, but who was their target? Was it her or Silonik? Either way, she knew Trazu wouldn't take the news that his son had been targeted again very lightly. She had a feeling the fighting nearby was due to another Bounty Hunter, but if that was true, who was he or she fighting?

She got her answer right then when the form of Maskis came flying through the canvas of the booth between her and the fight, his vibrolance tearing the fabric to shreds as he went. He landed unceremoniously on his back, skidding to a halt right beside her.

"Having a fun filled day too I see." She quipped. "Need any help there? I already took care of your opponents partner...or should I say...the kids took care of him."

“I’m getting sick and tired of this…” Asri growled. She was tired of being jeered and taunted by her own kind just because of her scale coloration. She was tired of being a target for any reason for that matter and she was sick of those she cared for being targets. Her temper rising, she looked at Maskis with a hot look. “Do I look like I am capable of taking those things out with my bare hands!? I’m not a cyborg…or a robot!” What she didn’t say was that she hated those two particular terms as well, for very specific reasons she wasn’t about to reveal. She was in such a sore mood that she just folded her arms and stood there, glaring angrily at the two cyborgs approaching them. A part of her was screaming that she should be running, but she completely ignored it.

Suddenly one of the drop pods rose up into the air, then smashed on top of the head of the cyborg closest to her. The other cyborg looked at it’s now flattened partner in shock, only a twitching hand able to be seen from underneath the pod. Asri looked equally as shocked, but had an idea of what caused it. Looking down she saw Mortor glaring at the remaining cyborg menacingly.

“Go away.” He hissed at it. “Go away and stop ruining our fun or I’ll do worse to you.”

“Mortor…?” Silonik looked surprised at how threatening his friend was being. “That’s not…”

“I don’t care!” Mortor snapped. “They hurt people. Hurt people that have done nothing to them! They are bad. They need to go away!”

“Mortor that’s enough.” Asri said, forgetting her own anger for the moment. “Acting violently will only make things worse. You keep this up and we won’t be able to continue to enjoy ourselves here.”

“We’re not enjoying ourselves now are we!?” Mortor retorted. “Because of baddies like him!” He pointed sharply at the remaining cyborg, who suddenly went flying back a few feet. “We done nothing wrong to deserve this!” Suddenly, the other drop pod came flying at the last cyborg, only to be halted inches from it’s target by Silonik, who strained against Mortor’s anger driven power to keep his friend from needlessly taking another life. Fortunately he didn’t need to hold it for long as Mortor lost any sense of control as he burst into tears, releasing his hold on the drop pod.

Now sole controller of the pod, Silonik used it to contain the last cyborg. He made it scoop up the cyborg back into it’s container and manipulated the Force in such a way as to cause the opening to not only close, but to fold inward in such a way that the cyborg was pinned with no way to free itself without outside help. Silonik then set the pod back down and leaned against Asri, his head throbbing with a headache now from using such an advanced technique so soon in his training.

Asri meanwhile had knelt beside Mortor, scooped him up into her arms and was now rocking back and forth whispering comforting words to him as he sobbed. Oh how the Jedi were going to have a field day when they heard about this event, but right now both kids just needed actual TLC.