Kale moved the Antaran Musk into the smuggling compartment and loaded up on food before taking off from the planet. With that ship still in orbit he had to make it appear as though he had sold the "whiskey" and loaded up on food as he told them he would, or they might get suspicious. At the range they had scanned him they could only read that it was a water-rich organic chemical mixture anyway, which fit the claim that it was whiskey. Now they'd detect large amounts of mostly digestible organic compounds in plastic packaging. He could bring out certain narcotic plants in this fashion if he wanted, but the Imperial presence on Jedha was much heavier than it was here and they might decide to manually inspect his cargo. Besides, the holy city didn't have much of a market for such things. It was a desert planet, though, so food production was always a bit slower than on most other worlds, and far slower than on a farming world like Dantooine.

He hadn't bothered visiting family while he was there. They were on the other side of the planet, after all. Maybe he would come back some day soon.

It was morning as he sat down on one of the docking bays outside the city and took an elevator up to the city proper. There weren't many docks inside the city walls, so it wasn't that surprising that they were all full. Normally in that situation most people would just land on any flat area they could find, but he wanted to be as close as possible so that he could sell the crates of food.

As he stepped off the ship an Storm trooper with a rank pad on his shoulder walked over. "Papers" he said. Kale reached into his jacket, slowly, as to not alarm the man, and pulled out a forged Imperial ID. It said that he was from Corellia. He looked Correlian enough. After all, his mother's parents were Corellian. His father's father was from an outer rim world named Cyphan. Many people from there were Force sensitive, though, so he didn't want to draw suspicion by saying he was from there. "Business?" asked the storm trooper.

"Got six crates of food from Dantooine. I figured it would sell well here. If not, I'll take it back to Corellia when I return home."

The stormtrooper ran it through a scanning device and handed it back. "Very well." he said as Kale took the ID back, and walked back to his post in the shade. His armor had a cooling system, Kale realized, but in this kind of heat it couldn't cool the armor fast enough.

With that Kale set off for the temple, leaving his two employees behind. Five minutes later he walked up to what he believed was the temple and asked to speak with a Guardian.

---

---

---

---

Talen-Jei patiently listened as the Mandalorian relayed her backstory, albeit reluctantly. Her words struck a cord with the Old Hunter, the familiarity of it. The "Great" Jedi Purge that saw the end of both the Jedi and the Republic, but how much more had it taken from the innocent and the uninvolved?

"The Force wanted you to survive."

The Priest's words seemed to echo in Talen-Jei's mind, interrupting his own train of thought to begin upon a new one. His father had spoken on the Force before, many years ago. The balance of energy that unified and connected all life to itself. The Hunter was an instrument in that great balance: Life and Death; Decay into New Life; Warmth and Cold; Peace and Violence; Hunter and Prey.

"Strength is within. Will to survive, to not be prey." Talen-Jei grunted in response. "Little Mandalorian must build own destiny, own purpose." Talen-Jei motioned a clawed hand towards himself. "I am Hunter. To hunt, to serve, is to live. Must always seek worthy prey, eyes on horizon, never backwards."

Tanda eyed the guard in front of her. She wondered to herself if he had heard the playback audio echo through the alley. Her heart felt like an anchor from anxiousness when she noticed that the Mirialan before her was armed. She felt her body instinctively backtrack towards the metallic wall that was Kay-6’s exterior. Her father had always warned against associating with strangers; too much baggage from the Clone Wars could land her into a kind of trouble she had never prepared for. In the Outer Rim it seemed just as common that a stranger might pull out their blaster on you as greet you. The humming of a busy city eased her; even if only slightly.

"Excuse me, you wouldn't happen to have a spare communications module, or happen to know how to fix one?" He asked, taking his backpack off to show her the damage.

His plea for help seemed to emboldened her. As if empowered by some sort of pseudo-heroic instinct she swallowed a lump in her throat before straightening herself out. As she did so she inquisitively snatched the device from the man’s hands.

“Hmmm,” she hummed softly to herself as her eyes scanned the frayed wiring. Her small digits, the color of Jedha's sands, found their home in the intricate layout of the module. She carefully traced the metal pieces that were etched out onto the motherboard of the module. She found herself questioning internally how he had managed to damage the device. Given that he carried, to her, what seemed to be the equivalent of an Imperial dreadnought armory on his person she thought it best not to ask.

Her eyes returned to his for a moment before carefully darting back down to the communication module in hopes of reprieve from an awkward encounter. “You roughed this up pretty bad,” she said before reaching into a compartment that rested on her fanny pack. “But I think I can fix it.” As she spoke her arm retreated from her pouch, and with it a small bottle of what appeared to be an orange glue.

“Kay-6 here, is my personal soldering gun.” Protests rang out from the droid behind Tanda, but the girl waved them off.

“I do carry some soft solders around for repairs to Kay, but she’s also protected by a thick metal frame. You’ll probably need something with a bit more tensile strength if it’s being damaged like this frequently. I unfortunately don’t carry those kind of alloys around.”Tanda sighed to herself before thumbing over the module again. For a moment her eyes extended out past the alleyway to see the bustling city streets. It was likely that a merchant might have what they needed. With that said, given the increasing presence of the Empire it was also just as likely that the somewhat off-putting stranger in front of her wanted to remain discreet. After all, a merchant hadn’t been his first choice in addressing this problem.

“I could give this a shot for you, but I can’t promise it’ll be a permanent join.” Kay-6 matched her owner’s sentiment with an unenthusiastic whirling.

“Kay-6, if I’m using a soldering iron on you of course it’s technically going to burn you, but you were completely fine. Don’t scare our new friend.”

She eyed the soldier before her. “You are a friend aren’t you?”

The green blaster fire from a TIE fighter just barely skirted by Airus's ship he groaned. "Yes of course non-combat role! How is this non-combat!" He yelled as he cut in tight flipping around taking shots at the TIE's behind him destroying them both in a blaze of shots. "Roseland please tell you got the lead because if more are coming I'm going to shoot you next!"

At the moment the rebel Ace was dogfighting with a TIE interceptor, Painter groaned. "Goldie angle deflectors forward I got a bad idea of how we're going to get this guy." He said locking his S-foils hitting max speed as they began moving through the wreckage of an old clones wars ships.

"Roseland I told you there were mines out that way!" Shouted the Jedi as his A-wing came across the outside of the debris field.

"Shut up your Jediness and let me worry about the mines. I can't get a lock on him." Painter answered as he brought barely dodged through the wreckage of a droid capital ship. "I'm going to skirt the minefield, launch a missile on my mark to detonate the mines." The rebel answered as they arrived near the wreck of an Acclamator frigate. "Goldie rear deflectors, watch the angle and don't let them damage the hyperdrive."

Airus groaned. "Again, non-combat how did you convince me that scouring this graveyard was a good idea." He grumbled moving out he primed a missile and locked it on to a mine. Not far from the two's exit.

"Now Airus!" Yelled Painter as he turned hard diving along the edge of the minefield, the TIE moving further in to shoot get an angle. Laughing as the missile failed to even lock on before debris from an explosion smashed the TIE and rocketed it into another mine. Painter shot out from the graveyard of ships as it exploded.

Airus sighed and rocked his shoulders. "Can we go to Jedha now? Your pit stops to see about finding more Y-wings worked out well." He sighed.

"Yeah, come on let us get to Jedha. Maybe the temple there will help me meditate and find some peace." He grumbled.

"I thought Jedi knights were supposed to protect others." Teased the pilot.

"I am not a knight! How many times must I tell you this I am a Lorekeeper!" Shouted the Jedi as they made the jump to lightspeed.

Sometime later...

"Stay with the ships Painter." Airus spoke pulling up his hood and drawing out his staff to use as a walking stick. Focusing on masking his force presence.

"Why? I'm your escort you know, I should-" Airus didn't turn but cut him off.

"You're a rebel, you run your mouth a lot, and I know how to avoid Imperials... Now, Goldie zap him if he gets out of line or tries to leave. The Jedi here will go look for things and see if the guardians know anything, while you make my ship look pretty again... Those blast marks do not look good, buff them out for me." He grinned and set off into the city Painter grumbling.

"Stupid Jedi." He sighed and helped Goldie out of his X-wing.

Airus Vel Aath made his way into Jedi city slowly nearing the old temple, he played the blind man moving his staff back and forth slowly as walked carefully to avoid others. The Jedi was soon nearing the old Temple sighing he could feel the Empire around it, so carefully he searched around finding an older man and a Mandalorian nearby he thought it best to ask them questions about the temple.

Airus moving his cane back and forth approaching stopping beside Talen-Jei, his hands folded over the top of his Beskar staff. "Before me, I see Hunter, a lost Hunter, and someone has been waiting... His wait is done, one those lost has come home." He spoke with a small smile. "The Force guides us still..." He answered slowly undoing the wrappings around his eyes, revealing his eyeless sockets. Putting them back on as he spoke he asked the question that burned into his mind. "Tell me... They take Kyber but... Did they take the knowledge you guarded as well?" Asked the Miraluka, he barely looked out of his twenties but with force sensetives one could never know the truth.

- Unregistered waystation, Outer Rim

Very few things were consistent across the known galaxy, yet luckily for Solace cantinas were among them. She sat back in one of the corner booths, scanning her surroundings and taking stock of the other patrons. The dim light worked to the advantage of not just her, but several others in the cantina, bounty hunters and smugglers as well as other individuals of ill-repute. Places like this were comfortable to her, even more so after their run-in with the Empire a few years back. Here she could relax, have a drink and make occasional small-talk with the local scum and villainy. An unregistered station in the middle of nowhere just made it easier.

To either side of her were a pair of smugglers, regaling her with the same tales that every other one told, but she flashed her smile and played along anyways. The taller human was handsome enough, and the scar across his face hinted that he could actually back up his words. She thought for a moment if he had told her his name, admittedly tuning out most of what the two were talking about. Ah, it was Henrik. Solace didn't even have to check her datapad to know he was wanted across a dozen systems for contraband charges. The other one, a rather forward Duros who's name she didn't care about, he was a much smaller fish.

"... So I told him that if he wanted, I could go wake the Moff. For just that brief moment, the trooper's face matched his armor in color. He told me to just go about my business and not to make any more trouble, something I promptly ignored of course." Laughing softly, she adjusted herself in the booth to face Henrik a little more directly, her leather duster open to display not just the blaster pistol at her hip, but also the hex-patterned black bodysuit which clung tightly to her skin. It produced the desired effect immediately, drawing the man's attention right where she wanted. "So Henrik…" Solace purred the words, leaning forward and pursing her lips as her cybernetic eyes focused on him. "I think you offered to show me your ship, did you not?"

The Duros wisely chose that moment to give up his pursuits, seeing that there was nothing for him. Leaving Solace to her games and the privacy of the secluded booth, he began to leave the cantina for the hangar when he passed by someone with the same face and a lot more vibrant clothes. Doing a double-take, he confirmed that the woman heading to the bar looked exactly like Solace and decided for himself that he should sleep off whatever he just drank before taking the helm.

---

Approaching the bar with a light hum, Requiem took a seat at the counter and scanned across the holodisplays on the wall. Still wearing the cloth across her eyes, it took a moment for the overweight Trandoshan to recognize that she wasn't blind and lost.

"Miraluka far from home." He spoke in crude basic instead of his native tongue, more accustomed to having to use it when serving drinks. "This one provide alcoholic reminder?" Requiem turned her attention to him, a wide smile spreading across her lips as she nodded, placing a few credits on the counter. "Wasn't old enough to drink when I left, but mother always said the Alpheridian Syrah tasted like a summer breeze through the prairie-land south of the capital."

Grunting in acknowledgement, he set about retrieving the bottle, part of him suspect on how she knew he had it and another relieved to potentially get rid of the contraband. A moment later the dark liquid sat in a glass in front of her, and she thanked him softly as he left to service another. Requiem put the glass to her lips, taking a drink of the wine and nodding slowly as she felt her mother had been correct. It felt like a lifetime ago when the most her and her sister had to worry about was getting home before dark, a much simpler time that she longed for. Solace had embraced the changes in the galaxy, but it had always been harder for her to do the same. She just couldn't reconcile with the fact that many of the people she had known during their time in the order were gone. While it was true that a good number had gone into hiding, many more had fallen.

A slight brush against the surface thoughts of her mind let her know her sister present, and for once it was her that was lifting spirits. Requiem glanced over and almost immediately regretted it, drawing a laugh from one and confused looks from the other as she witness the lewd glances the smuggler was putting on her sister. She heard the hushed tones of an explanation, and a rather swift declined request that she didn't hear. All very strange, but she thought most of what Solace chose to do in her spare time was, and the rest were just things she had no interest in.

Resigning herself to spending a little more time on this station, she was distracted from the approach of a stranger to the bar and a little startled when he ordered his own drink and started introducing himself.

"Hello there, name's Jervis. Are you also a free trader stopping to rest?" The man offered a charming smile and for a moment she was caught off guard by him. He stood out from most of the other patrons, and not just for his clean well-kept face and clothing, but the very mannerisms in which he spoke and acted. An obvious Corellian, it didn't take more than a cursory reading of him to discover he really was a free trader, though licensed by one of the guilds. Requiem composed herself, a light blush coloring her cheeks as she turned to face him and bowed her head slightly. "H-hi, sorry you kind of surprised me. I'm-" Wait! Something cut her off before she introduced herself to him, advice from Solace on talking to people she didn't know. She couldn't just give him her name, not even her Miralukan one. Quick… Something fake but not too obvious.

"Miranda." Requiem mumbled, playing shy as she put her glass to her lips with both hands cradling it. "Miranda Lawson." Something sparked in the man's aura, inquisitive and suspicious at the same time. It was gone almost as soon as she noticed though, leaving her confused if maybe she wasn't reading him correctly, but as she probed at his surface thoughts and feelings she couldn't catch anything other than his charming curiosity. She let it go as he started talking again, telling her about his current route and what he thought to be the boring nature of shipping starship parts. Of course, as interested as she was in the discussion of other worlds and their cultures, she had to hide it and pretend to be just as bored of the same stops. Pretending like this wasn't very fun normally, but something about him made her comfortable with it and wanting to keep his attention for just a bit longe-

++Oh, he's a real looker sis. Good job.++

Her sister's telepathic encouragement cut across all her thoughts like a rancor in a coruscant high-rise. She nearly choked on the wine in her mouth, coughing and going a deep red as she turned to pout at Solace, who was staring directly at her with a look that she didn't even want to describe. It came at a cost though, as it also drew Jervis' attention to the very same booth and that strange spark came up again. "Th-that's just my sister, she threw something at me…" A poor lie, though all of hers always were. Jervis looked between the two, and slowly she saw something like recognition flare in his mind, like he had seen them before. Solace saw it before she did, the way he stood up to take a better look and how his blaster sat on his hip. "I know you…" His attention was now focused on her sister, who was reaching underneath the table to rest her hand on her own blaster.

The next fifteen seconds passed painfully slow, every movement and word drawn out like the calm before the storm. Requiem left her seat at the bar, distancing herself from the man drawing a pistol in front of her. Across the cantina a group of smugglers looked up from their pazaak game, one of them reaching for a knife. Her sister had the palm of her other hand underneath the table, already starting to flip it as two words left Jervis' mouth. Those two words ignited the tension in the cantina that always lingered in such fringe establishments, and especially when an individual such as he was present.

"Imperial Intelligence!"

---

She looked frightened at first, given his sudden appearance, and the over abundance of pirates, bandits, and bounty hunters in the mid and outer rim, he didn't blame her. In an effort to seem more friendly, he pulled down the cloth that concealed his face. It took her a moment, but she took the communications module out of his backpack and examined it closely. Seemingly deep in thought, no doubt seeing things and connections in the device that Verro had no clue about. He set the backpack down on the ground and leaned over to look at her astromech droid, he had met a few before, but never really talked to any. All he knew about them was that they were extremely useful and pretty much the multitool of droids. The droid itself seemed rather unimpressive, basically the shape of a domed trashcan with wheels, but he knew that it was much more. He looked back at the woman, who glanced back up to him.

“You roughed this up pretty bad, but I think I can fix it.” She reported. Verro smiled at the news, for an hour he couldn't find a module that fit exactly in the slot in his backpack, and he preferred that model anyways. She pulled out a bottle of orange liquid, then introduced her droid. Kay6, as her personal soldering tool. The droid spoke up and judging by the womans response, it sounded like the droid took a little bit of offense. He wondered if the droid had any weapons and made a personal note to not irritate it until he found out. She continued, explaining that she only carried a few solders on her for Kay6's repairs. She then said something interesting, offering the idea that he should get a communicator with more durability. Verro looked at Kay6, then at the radio the mechanic held in her hands. He didn't get shot in the back often and he wasn't sure if there were any that fit his backpack slot, but maybe he could up-armor it. He thought about simply covering it in durasteel or plastoid, but he needed to access its controls in case he needed to make a long range communication. She spoke up again and Verro shelved the thought, he'd maybe sketch something out later.

She said that she could repair it, albeit only a temporary fix. But that still made Verro glad, she bantered with her droid for a little, then carefully looked at the guardsman. “You are a friend aren’t you?”
Verro inhaled, taking a moment, "As long as you're not a pirate or bandit looking to raid shipping vessels, I'm sure we'll get along." he replied. She didn't look like a bandit, and she didn't seem predatory like most of those types of criminals are. She seemed like a good person. He spoke up again, "And... it wasn't entirely my fault. The communicator," he clarified, "raiders boarded the vessel I was tasked with guarding. A younger guardsman beside me took a blaster bolt to the shoulder, I had to turn around and apply medical aid immediately. A bolt to the shoulder could cause permanent damage if it healed wrong, worse yet if the bolt punctured any of the arteries he could have been in serious trouble. While I was examining his wound they shot me in the back, comms kit took the blast." He gestured towards it, "Probably owe it my life. If I didn't have my ruck on, the bolt might have gone through the back of my head." the guardsman explained, tapping the side of his helmet. He shook his head and crossed his arms, "What kind of person shoots a guy providing medical...", he grumbled, glancing to the floor. He looked back up to the woman. "The kid is fine, by the way, he luckily had plating that took the brunt of the laser. He just had some minor burning, bruising and some superficial puncture wounds from spalling. Should be out with a doctor right now." Verro said, point out towards the city with his thumb
Verro glanced up to the sky, "Since we're friends, I'm Verro Tallav." he put a hand on his over his heart and bowed slightly, "Merchant guard and occasional hostage rescuer." He extended a gloved hand for a handshake, "Your name? I don't have a lot of friends around Jedha."

@LucDipearle[@apollosearcher]

Kit nodded her head at the hunter in front of her, curious but hesitant to ask many questions. She sat still, simply watching the street, before quietly whispering, "I don't believe the force wants much to do with people like us anyways...I will build a destiny one day. Eventually, some of my people have to show back up. Once they do, we will become great again. I believe that."

Yomi sighed heavily, pointing his cane at Talen-Jei, "You're not just hunter. You. You're smart. You could be of use if found by the right company. The both of you could. Perhaps...the force brings you together."

Kit narrowed her eyes, shifting them back to Talen-Jei with wonder. She had never thought of having a partner before, but, then again, Jedha city was a lonely place.

As another being took to the stairs, Kits eyes moved to him. She kept them very narrowed, taking in what she was looking at. Her hand gingerly reached down for her blaster, attempting to keep her movements slow as to not upset Yomi.

As the newest stranger spoke to Yomi, the old man chuckled, shaking his head, "Knowledge can never be taken from the Whills. They may take our resources. They may take our crystals. But the Whills and the knowledge they possess will die with the Jedi only. Besides, what does the empire want with a bunch of old moldy books, eh?"

Kit smirked at Yomis optimism. The guardians had opted to stay, and the empire had allowed it, but life as they knew it was gone.

---

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---

---

Company...Talen-Jei had been alone since he abandoned his sordid past on Kashyyk, choosing to never hire a crew or take on any followers of his own. Perhaps he felt it was what he deserved for the blood that stained his hands still. The quest that laid before him was an insurmountable one. The points he earned with each kill, the honor and glory that rarer and rarer trophies would bring him; he would give all of it up, forfeit his life and receive no salvation for it, if only to ease his soul its burden.

In youth, Talen-Jei had seen the renowned Trandoshan slavers, bearing Ryyk blades and Wookiee pelts as badges of honor, telling tales of glorious slaughter, turning fellow hunters into prey. It was cause for celebration and mock ritual, memorializing Wookiee scalps and belongings, racking up months or even years worth of points for only a few pelts. But his father would have no part of it.

To hunt a creature that could think and feel for itself, see beyond instinct, that was murder in Deekus' eyes - a heinous perversion of the sacred art. To hunt was to test strength, skill, and cunning against worthy prey on an even field. But for a hunter to hunt another hunter. There had to be malice there; anger and hatred that honored only the surviving hunter - not the Scorekeeper.

Coming out of his own mind, Talen-Jei looked upon the Old Priest and the Mandalorian once more, an eerie, appraising look in his eyes seemed to be present at all times, as if he were studying the two of them the way a wild beast sizes up competition. Obvious strengths, weaknesses, notable features. The Hunt ceased not.

"Hmm. Scorekeeper has gifted worthy Hunters before. A sign, perhaps." He replied, with a tone seeming neither here-nor-there on the matter. He was not used to traveling with another, and the idea intrigued him as much as it repelled him.

Before he could give a more concrete reply, the trio were interrupted by the introduction of another, a Miraluka, garbed in pilgrim's robes and bandages. Deekus had told Talen-Jei before of the Miraluka, mysterious near-Humans all intrinsically connected to the Force, relying on it simply to see.

The blind one spoke to Talen-Jei directly, addressing him as a 'Lost Hunter.' Uncertain of the purpose of this apparent reading or the necessity behind it, the Hunter merely took a practical approach, looking up at the Miraluka directly. "Blind one is not cautious, too trusting. Empire hunts eyeless Humans, predators all over. Mask your scent." Talen-Jei growled, eyes narrowing at the Miraluka, that same appraising gaze pinpointing a weakness, a soft spot.

Kale was lead by a blind man into the temple where he spotted a girl in beskar'gam, or at least fake beskar'gam, talking to a Trandoshan. Then, to his surprise, a man in robes joined them. Kale overheard a bit of their conversation, they were considering joining together, and the blind man asking about stolen knowledge. Then, surprisingly, the man revealed himself to be a Miraluka. Wow, thought Kale, there aren't many of them around. Suspicious of the situation, he turned back to his guide. "At this point, I half expect you to be a Miraluka too."

He laughed slightly. "No, just a normal blind human who serves the Force. As you seek to do."

"I'm not sure if I'm ready to serve the Force. The Empire doesn't exactly like those that do."

"Perhaps, but I don't think they seek to harm us yet, merely to steal our Kyber crystals. You may want to guard your own from them, though. I believe you found it for a reason."

Kale was surprised that the blind man knew about the crystal. "How could you tell I had one?"

"Because, the Force is with me, and I am one with the Force. Now, I believe the master is ready for you." He walked into the room. "Master, we have another guest. He has come seeking answers."

Kale bowed slightly. "You just said that the knowledge cannot be taken from you, but perhaps you could offer it in trade."

The old man smiled and looked at the blind one. "You may go, Chirrut." He looked back at Kale. "The knowledge, I offer freely, just like the food. If you are hungry, I will bring you something to eat."

"I came to this city with food, to trade in the market. If you wish, I can trade it to you at cost, as you are giving it away."

"The food would be appreciated, but we have few credits."

Well, that meant that they wouldn't want to buy his crystal, but the blind man had said that the Force may have given it to him for a reason, and they were offering information for free. Maybe he could learn enough about it to drive up the price with the next buyer if this whole Force sending it to him thing didn't pan out. "Very well," Kale said, sitting down at the table and pulling the crystal from his pocket, "If you offer information freely, what can you tell me about this?" He placed the blue kyber on the table and awaited an answer.

Airus spoke first to Yomi the guardian who had greeted him. "I did not expect they would tolerate you staying." He paused stifling a chuckle when the older man asked what the Empire would want with a bunch of dusty old books. "It's simple, to destroy them or perhaps steal knowledge. "I am Airus Vel Aath, Lorekeeper." To most that title would simply mean librarian to the Whills it was an old title, but one that referred to a Jedi who kept history and knowledge. Archiving in the grand temple on Coruscant. "Those moldy old books brought me all the way here... And I started my journey many years ago on Coruscant." The bandage wrapped man smiled at Yomi, wanting him to his dedication and care would not go unrespected. "However, I see an interesting bunch around me, I'd like to know the other people who make a pilgrimage to this holy site."

Airus gaged those around him, first at Talen-Jei, his talent as an empath and his own force sight let him understand what he was trying to find, a weakness. "No need to mask my scent... And no need to avoid predators, I can tell you there are currently no squads within three blocks. I could look beyond if I wished but I do not care too, my vision as you might refer to it is unlimited by where I might need to see... Thus I am always aware where the predator is." He explained, turning his head if only to speak at the hunter. "You seek a weakness in me with your eyes. A word of warning? Behind a bantha herd often hides a Krayt dragon, never trust appearance."

Turning his head to direct his voice next at Kit next, his sense reached out, then pain rushed forward to his mind. He gripped his Beskar staff tightly collapsing to a knee. "You were... There... Mandalore... Through all of that." He grunted and moved to slowly start to stand again, his body shakey. His own memories flooding forward, his fear and pain on those days after his escape. "I was... I was there too, so many lost so much." He spoke trying to regain his composure. "I was there... To record the life and times of the late Duchess in my youth, my staff it was a present from the family that hosted me." He still leaning on the staff as he took shallow breaths, he had only gleaned the emotion and pain triggering his own memories and nothing more. "I... I am sorry." He offered and her a pained and remorseful expression on his face. Not one of pity but of someone who had experienced much the such, the loss and pain of the family. His hood fell away, revealing the wild short hair upon the young man's head.

- Unregistered waystation, Outer Rim

There was a distinct moment of calm before it happened. Solace felt the atmosphere shift through not just the force, but also her basic instincts. The man felt off, even before he caught sight of her. Something about him was wrong, almost fake… As if his aura was carefully constructed so as to- She swore internally as soon as she noticed the very particular details that set her senses off. The man had noticed as well and was already reaching for his gun, shouting two words that set the bar into chaos. Her sister dove before the first blaster bolt, crying out and scrambling for cover. For her it was a little harder, as all she had was a flimsy durasteel table now flipped on its side between her and the agent.

All around the cantina was shouting and drawn weapons. Some of the bounty hunters had decided to take this moment as an opportunity to cash in on the chaos and the smugglers thought it best not to let that happen. It provided an excellent distraction however, as while not many in the cantina cared much for each other, no one like the Empire and the stormtroopers that hastily entered to try and quell the brawl. Solace took the time to reach out to her sister, finding her hunched over behind the bar and cowering, all the while the Trandoshan next to her simply carried on cleaning glasses.

++ Sena, we have to go. Now. ++
++ H-how?! Everyone is shooting, and there's bad guys at the door! ++

As much as she disliked how adverse to conflict her sister was, she was quite right on this one. Just a cursory glance towards the door with her force-sight told her that much. There were six troopers advancing into the bar, firing sporadically into the cantina patrons and shouting to try and restore order. It was incredibly ineffective, but they were still a significant problem. Her mind raced as she thought through the ideal scenarios to get them through the blockade and out the door, but with her lightsabers still on the ship, they were poorly equipped for any kind of assault. Even less fortunate, it seemed Henrik saw fit to die before she could get any use out of him. Shaking her head, she sighed as she reached into the man's coat pockets, idly thumbing through his belongings while she thought of a way to get them out.

++ V-verra! What are you doing? That's not yours! ++
++ He doesn't need these credits anymore, and besides, an extra blaster could be pretty useful right now. ++

Requiem was always that way, so steadfastly tied to the old codes that she didn't even jaywalk. It was infuriating at times, especially since she had been so opposed to something as minor as getting some cybernetic eyes to blend in a little better with the human populace. Solace paused for a moment, an idea coming to mind that sounded so stupid that it might actually work. If they couldn't directly engage the stormtroopers, then throwing them off balance would even the odds enough for both of them to make a run for it.

++ I'm going to do something stupid, be ready to run for the door. ++

She didn't bother with her sister's protestations, instead taking another look at the group at the door. With just a gentle brush against their minds she got a feel for what kind of people they were. A wicked grin spread across her lips when she saw exactly what she wanted, a distinct lack of combat experience among them. Her plan ready, she waited for the precise moment that the group was clustered together, signaling Requiem to be ready to bolt on her mark. Solace stood from behind the table, drawing the attention of the group as well as their blasters. It was down to seconds now, she had to not only be accurate but also fast. One hand braced the table to vault over it, the other reaching up to her face.

The trooper on the far left and closest to the bar had leveled his blaster on her, finger hovering over the trigger as all six of them watched and the imperial agent turned to face her. Fingers dug into the soft flesh between the bridge of her nose and her right eye, in a single motion scooping the cybernetic implant from her face and launching it straight ahead of her. A feeling of disgust and horror seeped from the group, the eye spiraling through the air until impacting with a wet thwack against the chest of the trooper in the center.
Both sisters were in motion before they heard the panicked scream from the man, his finger spasming on the trigger and lighting up the one next to him. More shouts followed, but by the time the stormtroopers were able to pull together, their targets had already fled into the halls and towards the hangar decks…

---

Their flight through the station had been frantic, taking the long way around checkpoints and trying to avoid the closing noose of the Empire on them. All communication channels had been cut, even the intercomm for the station had been redirected to broadcast imperial messages demanding compliance. It only became clear to them just how screwed they were when they found the hangar sealed and patrols closing in. That had been mere moments ago, but felt like forever as Requiem hid behind her side of the barricade and tried really hard to put on a brave face. It was difficult for her, mostly because she rarely left the ship anymore, and never had to deal with this type of stuff anymore.

The bad men at the other end of the hallway weren't too open to talking, so she didn't know what to do. If she could find a sense of calm, then it would be no problem at all to use the force on them, or at the very least put up a barrier. Her sister's side was looking particularly worn, the boxes melting from how much blasterfire was being put down the hall against them. It was all very mean she thought, and didn't make any sense at all if they wanted to take them alive. Then again, she supposed that maybe they were just afraid because of what the Empire told them about force-users. A feeling of sadness overcame her, thinking of how easy it was for it to look like they were just doing their jobs. That settled it! She was going to try to be nice one more time, and give them a chance to see just how good force-users really were!

Requiem slowly calmed her breathing, walking herself through the Jedi code and the short meditations taught to her long ago. It seemed to be working already, as she felt like a weight was lifted from her and could already tune out the blaster fire. She kept at it though, thinking on how she would defuse the situation. Opening with a force barrier would let her speak to them face to face, but also protect both herself and her sister. It was easy and quick to establish, which would let her focus on weaving a calming effect on the force around them… Yes! That would work perfectly! Requiem was quite happy with herself, having found a non-violent solution to their stormtrooper problem.

Standing with confidence, she held a hand before her, incoming blaster bolts dissipating upon contact with her skin. The force flows through me… She projected a barrier forward a few feet, stretching it to cover the entire hallway and sighed as she heard the gentle thump of new impacts upon it. Slowly they stopped, their officer clearly recognizing a force-shield when he saw one and knowing that merely overwhelming it was not an option. Yet, both of them knew that it was a defensive measure and nothing more. Solace left cover beside her, moving to start working on the doors, but that would take precious time that she wasn't sure they had. That left her with the next part of her plan, and one that she really hoped would work.

Gently projecting an aura of calm forward, she watched as it washed over the squad of stormtroopers, confusing them at first before sinking in and slackening their grips on their weapons. "Please, set your weapons down." Her voice was soft and light, but carried clearly across the hall. For a moment they hesitated, but she put a little more will into the force swirling around them, and they complied. Even with their helmets she could tell that they were disoriented, and she wanted to try and end this before she risked damage to their minds. "Return to the cantina, tell your captain that we had already left when you got to the hangar." All of them nodded slowly, turning around and beginning to shuffle back the way they came.

++ Verra, they're leaving but I don't know how well that's going to work. ++
++ Trust me, I don't want to sit around to find out either. I just got the door, so let's get out of here. ++

The door opened as the sisters relaxed, the stormtroopers now out of sight but not quite out of mind. Luckily all of the supplies they had purchased on the station had already been loaded, so all they needed to do was board and get out.

++ Alright Sena, strap in because we're not waiting for clearance to leave… ++

---

- Jedha, Upper Orbit

It had been several days since their very unfortunate run-in with the empire in the outer rim, most of that spent in hyperspace so as to avoid patrols but also due to necessity of their destination. When Solace had gotten to the bridge of the Absolution, she had noticed a pending request for their services on Jedha, something regarding the temple on the moon. Neither sister really knew much about it, other than the rumors of it being under Imperial occupation and the local citizens heavily oppressed. Such was life across the Empire though, so it was not hard to imagine.

Sure enough, upon exiting hyperspace they found their sensors overwhelmed with imperial IFFs, a fleet orbiting the city of Jedha and overseeing all visitors. "Shit." Solace swore openly, taking evasive maneuvers and working to minimize their own presence on sensors. Generally, she tried to avoid occupied planets for this exact reason, but the growing rebellion was a decent cause and they paid well enough that she answered what few jobs they sent her way. This one was already looking pretty bad, as they had to swing wide around the fleet and towards the desert regions of the moon in order to avoid them.

++ Sena, check the speeder in the cargo bay and make sure it's ready to fly. We're going to have to set down a ways from the city. ++

An affirmative came her way as her sister left her room, her presence telepathically broadcast to her as the ship slowly began entry of the moon's atmosphere. Well, at least the ship was rated for planetary landings, if it wasn't then both of them would be in some serious troubl- A loud crack from the aft of the ship interrupted her thoughts the moment that they hit atmo, followed by a very brief loss of gravity. All across the panels in front of her were angry red lights, most of them flashing and somewhere a shrill alarm sounded.

++ W-what was that? ++

Solace checked the readouts, a bead of sweat trickling down her face as she let out a morbid laugh. Of all the times that it could happen, it chose this one particular moment.

++ We… We lost power to engine two… ++

Silence crossed the telepathic link between the sisters, both of them knowing quite well what that meant for them. Their ship was already barely hanging on, and without all three engines their landing was going to be a little rougher than normal. Requiem frantically moved about the cargo hold, tying down what she could before running to the bridge, finding her sister at the helm and doing everything she could to control their descent. Both remaining engines strained past their threshold, an angry red plume illuminating either side of the smoking trail of the central one.