The Rebel Faction

The first thing he wanted to do, well after dislodging Lavality from his person so he could walk around without her following him like a lost puppy, was talk to Asri He had missed her a lot during the trip and a couple of younglings clued him in on where she usually spent her time these days. When he approached the classroom he heard music coming from within and this puzzled him a bit. What was she doing in there? Meditating?

It turned out to be someone he didn’t expect. When he opened the door his heart skipped a beat, his eyes widened and his jaw dropped. She was dancing. Dear gods she was dancing! Never before had he seen any Trandoshan move like that and it simply mesmerized him, his affection for her only increasing with each move she made. The show ended abruptly though when she realized he was there and ended up tripping over her own feet. After helping her up, they talked a bit, Trazu telling her about what happened during the trip. Then Maskis came in, demanding to know what happened to Lavality.

Trazu looked up at Maskis, sensing anger, fear, and…jealousy? What was he jealous off? He glanced over at Asri, who looked a bit embarrassed at having yet another Trandoshan see her in the attire she was wearing and realized what it was. So he had a competitor and Trazu felt his own brows furrow as he turned toward Maskis, standing tall and proud.

“You should watch how you address a superior.” Trazu said with a low growl. He usually wasn’t one to ‘pull social status’ on anyone, but for some reason he felt this was an acceptable situation. “Any other noble would have you flat on your back right now for your disrespect.”

“Says the man who hates be referred to as a noble…” He heard Asri say softly and with those words he lost some of his gusto. She was right: he wasn’t being himself.

“We had a nasty encounter with a dark spirit on the expedition.” He explained with a sigh. “It took over her body, expelling the good spirit that was in her, and proceeded to try to kill me. Fortunately it didn’t know how skilled I was and I was able disarm it and used the Force to enter Lavality’s mind and start pushing the spirit out. Lavality’s consciousness helped with that, though she over did it and the apparent result is a very bad case of amnesia. She doesn’t remember anything, not even her name, and she thinks I’m her parent or something…didn’t want me to leave when I took her to her room.” He folded his arms. “There, now you know. You can stop glaring at me like I am your worse enemy.”

Unknown location

It had been a long time since he had taken a job, in part due to his imprisonment on the Astra Astoria and after his escape from the space station, taking his time learning about this galaxy. He couldn’t risk taking jobs when there was so little known about this galaxy and that so few knew about his kind. The Tuezo learned from the trace memories from the blood of his victims and by simply listening to what was going on around him as he traveled from planet to planet, keeping a low profile. It was only a matter of time before someone wanted to use his ‘services’ and here he was now in this dusty old warehouse, waiting for this potential employer to show. Whomever it was he or she was taking his sweet time, but fortunately Tuezo’s were a very patient species.

The warehouse was dark and most other species would have had trouble determining if they were completely alone in here or not. But Vaalm knew better, thanks to his keen senses. With his nightvision he could see the faint shapes watching him from the catwalks above, but even more clearly he could see them with his heat sensors, which came in the from of the three feelers on the tip of his snout. These were so sensitive he could pick out an individual with their heat signature alone. Vaalm didn’t make the fact that he knew those people were there known, as it was best they didn’t know ‘all’ of his abilities.

Finally he picked out a form on his level approaching him, but it had no heat signature. His eyes narrowing and a scowl forming in his lips, he watched as the protocol droid approached.

“Good even sir. The Master…”

Vaalm didn’t let the droid finish his sentence. With a roar he swiped a forepaw at it, punching through it’s carapace easily and ripping it’s internal circuitry to shreds. The droid only managed to say ‘oh my goodness!’ before it died completely. Pulling his paw out of the droid, he let it fall as he looked around pointingly at each person he could see, showing them that he knew they were there.

“I deal only with those made of flesh!” He announced with a growl. Normally his kind prefer to speak telepathically, but Vaalm had discovered early on that not everyone was able to ‘receive’ telepathic messages, so he learned to speak Basic. “Do not insult me by sending a metal servant in your place!”

Vaalm snorted that thought of credits: Tuezo’s had little need for credits, though Vaalm supposed he could find a use for all that cash. With his three pairs of eyes he studied the photo with a faint frown. Children, or any race that was small in stature, were not usually on their pallet of victims, mainly because they didn’t hold enough blood to sustain a Tuezo for very long. A meal was a meal, though Vaalm wondered if such a ‘biteful’ would be worth going after.

He had heard of the Jedi, humanoids that had abilities that mimicked his own psyonic abilities and beyond, and knew they won’t be easy to get around. This was probably why this lizardman, Trandoshan they were called if he recalled correctly, decided to go with a being that could counter this ‘Force’ to some degree, as the bounty price suggested many had failed before him and this man was getting desperate. With this knowledge, Vaalm knew that he won’t be able to do this in a week. He needed time to study the situation and plan: Tuezo’s on a job didn’t rush to finish them.

The ‘why’ his girl was targeted never entered his mind, as a Tuezo never cared about those kinds of things: just lead to the stick mess that was politics and emotions, which Tuezo preferred to avoid. It was likely the ‘obvious’ anyway, namely that she was the daughter of someone important, not that it mattered to him. Having commented the image of this ‘Lavality’ to memory, Vaalm dropped the picture and trotted out of the warehouse. He needed to find transport to Theed and since Tuezo’s preferred to stow away…that alone could take a week….

Jedi Academy

“He seems to have a lot on his mind.” Trazu muttered as he watched Maskis leave.

“Ever since I helped him retrieve some information he’s been on edge.” Asri said with a faint sigh. “As he said, things are going wrong with the Fleet and the lack of information is worrying him.” She looked at the time. “Well, I must vacate this room. There’s going to be a class in ten minutes.”

“You wouldn’t mind if I…watched…would you?” Trazu asked, looking a little flushed.

“Uh…no…I have what seems to be half the younglings watching half the time anyway so…I don’t mind.” His smile made her heart feel funny again and she had to turn away. “If you don’t mind…I need to change.”

“Of course Lady Asri.” Trazu said with a bow. “I look forward to attending your practice sessions in the future.”

After Trazu had left Asri started changing, shaking her head at the whole situation. Was it just her or did he seem rather ‘fond’ of her? It was certainly more obvious now then it was before he had left on the expedition and Asri wasn’t sure how to take it. She had felt…weird…around him this time and she wasn’t sure if she liked that feeling or not. Deciding to put it at the back of her mind for now she finished changing, packed up her stuff and returned to her own room. After dropping off her stuff, she decided to see how Lavality was, but decided to do so cautiously: she remembered all too well how the girl reacted to her once before she had snapped out of it and Maskis’ harsh demand to Trazu on what happened to her told Asri that he didn’t have a very pleasant ‘reunion’ with the girl.

Her muscles tense and ready to react to whatever may happen, Asri opened the door to Lavality’s room….

It was not the reaction she was expecting. For a moment Asri could only stand there dumbfounded, looking down at the Admiral of the Serendivus Fleet who had attached herself to her person like a child that had been lost and just found her parent. More then amnesia was at work here she determined, as what would drive a human girl to think a Trandoshan was her mother?

She must have one very interesting past…. She thought with a faint frown, feeling that something in her currently forgotten past must have triggered this. Now she knew why Trazu was so bothered by the girls condition: if she thought she was her mother…then Trazu was likely seen as her father. He’s already the father of five…and they are a handful as is. She thought. Especially Trissan. Poor Trazu must not have been expecting to suddenly ‘adopt’ Lavality…even if it was likely only temporary.

The question now though was how to respond to this situation. She knew from her own experience that you couldn’t force someone with amnesia to remember anything, so it was best to just go with the flow and hope her memory came back on it’s own. Poor Maskis is not going to be able to get near her until she remembers. She thought with a faint chuckle. I’d hate to be him trying to explain the situation to his superiors.

That wasn’t her concern right now though. Right now there was a twelve year old that seemed to be trying her hardest to cut off all blood flow to her legs. “Easy hun, you don’t want to squeeze me in half do you?” She said gently as she carefully pried the girls arms off her. “Shouldn’t you be in bed?”

Hallway leading to the Cafeteria

Trazu made his way toward the Cafeteria, his stomach growling with hunger and feeling a little light headed. His light headedness however was due to him still recovering from seeing Asri looking so beautiful and the eagerness of seeing her beautiful frame dance again. No Trandoshan had ever made him feel quite like this before, not even his first wife, TZosha. She was meant for him, he was sure of that. With Asri he felt the hole that had been in his heart since TZosha’s death close and he felt complete once more.

There was one ‘problem’ however and he was reminded of it as he approached the Cafeteria, seeing Maskis just leaving the place. If Asri was to be his and his alone, this ‘problem’ had to be nipped in the bud right away. His pose now more serious and threatening, he roughly yanked Maskis to the side.

“I don’t know what went on between you and Lady Asri while I was away.” He said, hissing slightly with threat. “But I would take care to remember your place here. You are in no position to make any claim to her, not while I have my eyes set on her. I suggest you avoid further contact with her…for your own sake.”

Not waiting for a response and feeling satisfied that he got his message across, Trazu let him go and proceeded to enter the Cafeteria to satisfy his hunger.

Asri smiled and tucked the bed sheets in around her. “Try to get some sleep hun ok?” She said to her. “Don’t worry, you’re safe here. Mommy will protect you. I will see you in the morning ok?”

The girl nodded and Asri slipped out of the room. Asri closed the door and leaned against it for a moment, thinking. This was going to be a very ‘interesting’ time for her….

A week later.

Asri was sitting on a bench out in the courtyard, admiring the stars and with Lavality in bed she took full advantage of being able to relax. The last week had been taxing for her to say the least, between Lavality acting like a five-year old and Trazu’s odd behavior around her. At least with Lavality it was understandable why she was acting the way she was and hopefully only temporary, though so far there was no sign of any memories returning to her. Plus the Admiral’s antics was starting to get on even the patient Asri’s nerves.

Trazu on the other hand, just seemed to keep getting worse, or was it better? She couldn’t decide. The funny feeling she got when she saw him only grew in intensity and she was at a loss as to why. While she appreciated the kind words and shows of friendship Trazu gave her, she didn’t know how to react to them. Trazu himself seemed to start getting frustrated with her lack of response, though it was barely perceptible in those lilac eyes. What did he want from her?

On top of all that, she had seen little of Maskis. This was in part due to do Lavality, whom was still afraid of him despite Asri’s assurances that he was of no threat to her, and Maskis simply had no choice but to avoid Lavality for the time being. Asri suspected there was something else to his scarcity however and she had got a clue to that recently when Trazu was with her last and Maskis had happened to enter the cafeteria where they were at. Trazu had given him such a glare that Maskis didn’t stick around long enough to even grab a bite to eat. This led her to believe that Trazu was the other reason Maskis didn’t come around her often anymore and she was at a loss as to why. Those two got along fine before Trazu had left on that expedition and to be honest Asri wouldn’t mind having a Trandoshan ‘other’ then Trazu to talk to every once in a while.

Speaking of Trazu…

“Excuse me, but is this seat taken?” She heard him say.

“No, go ahead.” She said, not looking at him and silently wondered if she’ll ever have a relaxing time without this seemingly obsessed Trandoshan. Out of the corner of her eye she watched him sit down beside her, noting that he was facing the opposite direction then she was.

“Stars are lovely tonight.” He said, absently, but then out of the corner of her eye saw him turn toward her. “But they pale compared to what’s sitting beside me.”

Asri flinched and gulped, uncertain how to respond. Ultimately she decided to ignore the comment. For a couple of minutes he seemed to be waiting for some sort of response from her, then finally sighed. “It’s Maskis isn’t it?” He asked, Asri noting the faint venom in his voice.

“What do you mean?” She asked in turn.

“You know what I mean!” He snapped, making her jump. “He has you wrapped around his finger doesn’t he? Goddess I should have put him in his place before I left on that trip.”

Asri stared at him, here expression one of disbelief. “The only one I seem to be wrapped around a finger of is Lavality.” She said as calmly as she could, though her voice was shaking a little. Why did she feel so hurt at his accusation?

“Then why? Why won’t you respond…react to me when I talk to you?” He demanded.

“I do react…”

“You didn’t just a moment ago…”

“I didn’t knew hew!” She snapped at him in Clan Dialect, making him lean back a moment and blink in shock. He was quiet for a few moments, the wheels in his head obviously turning going by the look in his eyes. What she just said, or perhaps ‘how’ she said it, got him thinking and finally he sighed and looked extremely sorry for how he was acting.

“I’m sorry…Lady Asri.” He said softly. “I had forgotten what you have experienced in your life and failed to realize you may have never experience before what I feel for you.”

“You know little of my past…” Asri said stiffly.

“I know enough to know that with a father like Besk, you wouldn’t know what it was like to be loved, or to be in love.”

It was Asri’s turn to rock back in surprise. Love!? Was this what this whole…game was about!? It seemed to outrageous to believe and her mind had a hard time wrapping around the idea. She didn’t have much time to convince herself, as Trazu had stood up and walked behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. His touch made her jump, yet it felt oddly comforting to her.

“Before anything else happens…” She heard him say quietly. “I must know, for my own sanity at least, what is Maskis to you?”

The answer rolled off her tongue easily. “A friend…if that. I helped him with a mission but beyond that we didn’t really do much together.” Though she couldn’t see him, she could tell by the tension in his hands that he was relieved by her answer.

“And…me?” He asked, sounding almost afraid of her response.

This time the answer wasn’t so easy in the coming. She thought for several long moments, but found her mind couldn’t really focus on any answer. “I…don’t know.” She replied honestly. “I thought I knew before…but now I am uncertain.”

“I understand.” He said, squeezing her shoulders gently. “I’ll try not to press and be so…suffocating…for the time being while you figure things out.” She felt his hands leave her shoulders. “I know from my own experiences that certain emotions can be difficult to figure out and understand, especially when you were raised believing our kind is incapable of feeling them. I bid you good night, Lady Asri.”

“Good night…Lord Trazu.” Asri said in barely a whisper as she listened to him walk away. She was once again alone in the courtyard, alone with only her own thoughts to accompany her.

Boy did she have a lot of thinking and soul searching to do….

Nearby

Vaalm had watched the exchange from a respectable distance, using the cover of darkness to hide his large black form. He had been here for a couple of days now and had spent that time observing the daily activities in and around the Academy. Using his mind reading abilities, he gleaned tid bits of information, some useful, others not. One thing was for certain: there were a lot of Jedi here and Vaalm knew he wouldn’t be able to just sneak in. So today his focus had been on seeking out means of creating a distraction and this exchange he just witnessed may have just given him the information he needed to create such an distraction.

The short male’s obsession over the female was obvious and the females confusion about the males behavior was more so. Vaalm had wanted to know more about the pair itself, but the male was one of those Jedi and thus had defenses against mental intrusion and the female…something was off about her for sure. Her heat signature showed her overall body temperature was lower then it should be and the signature seemed…incomplete for some reason, like there were billions of tiny holes in the female.

It really didn’t matter though, for what he had just learned would be enough to put a plan into action. He knew where the target was and who this ‘Maskis’ the male kept talking about was. Vaalm left his spot and searched around until he found Maskis and was able to gather a lot more information from him. Most importantly was a sense of frustration that he couldn’t be near the female per the shorter males stern warning. With a smile, Vaalm started using his mind powers to start carefully manipulating Maskis’ thoughts and feelings into confronting the competition for the lady’s hand….

Outside

Asri spent a long time outside, pondering the conversation she just had with Trazu. Once she had gotten her thoughts disentangled things started making sense to her. It wasn't just comfort she felt around him, but a sense of security and a kind of warmth that was very pleasent. Could it really be that the one thing she had thought she lost her chance to experience forever has really happened? Granted it made her wonder just what he saw in her, but that wasn't the point was it?

Feeling she had figured it out, she stood up and started to head back inside. By chance she looked up and saw a familiar face in the window. "What is she doing up?" Asri muttered to herself as she broke into a jog to get to Lavality's room before the girl had any thoughts of wondering the Academy in the middle of the night.

Hallway

Trazu studied the man before him, sensing with the Force that there was a great sense of confidence and determination in him. When he tried to probe deeper though, he found his mind clouded and he was unable to make sense of what the man was feeling beyond what he initinally felt. One thing was for certain though, Maskis was up to something and wasn't going to leave until he had followed through with it.

"Technicially it's evening." Trazu corrected. "But good afternoon to you as well." From his recent conversation with Asri, he was confident Maskis had no real hold over her, but why was he getting the feeling this was about Asri? "Is there something you want from me?" Trazu asked, seeing no reason to get harsh with the lad. Yet.