Community Spirit

Posted on Tue Oct 30th, 2012 @ 5:39pm by Thane & Sev Rezer

1,809 words; about a 9 minute read

Chapter: Chapter II: Era's Dawn
Location: Cockpit, Red Raptor
Timeline: Day Three

Even though it was the first true day the band that had united on Nar Shaddaa had truly been on the Red Raptor, each of the newcomers seemed to settle into the vessel quite well, as well as their respective roles and abilities, although only two seemed to be truly in a good position to handle the vessel.

Namely: Sev and Kip, who both had apparent experience in the running and maintaining of ships, particularly the Mandalorian, who had become their de facto pilot in the few hours of urgency to leave Hutt Space the previous day. Between Thane, Bomoor and Sev, they had deduced that taking a minor space lane out from Nar Shaddaa and into Bothan space would make it difficult for any Cartel ships serving Grogga the Hutt to pursue and apprehend them. From there, it would be easy to hop onto one of the more major lanes towards the Corellian Way superlane, leading straight to Coruscant.

Certainly, it would probably take between three to four standard days to reach the Core, but it was better than being captured by the Hutts. Even the bounty hunter had seemed to agree with that, but the Devaronian revealed little, and seemed neither to support nor go against any of their particular plans. Although he professed to have an interest in him, Thane also felt compelled to show him to the airlock. Deciding not to act on this instinct, he went in search of the one person on board that seemed to have some knowledge of this 'Flamewalker', as Sev had named him.

Walking up to the cockpit, he was pleased to find the Mandalorian by himself and sat in the pilot's chair. Not asking for permission, Thane set himself into the vacant co-pilot's chair, checking the bacta patch on his hand before speaking. "Rezer, being a grizzled man of the galaxy and all that, you must be able to tell me a few home truths about this Flamewalker we've found ourselves with?" He saw no reason for pleasantries or small talk with the man. In truth, he saw no reason for that most of the time, save for when employing irony.

Sev, wearing a simple white shirt and gray pants, didn't even look at Thane. "So I'm grizzled? I never would have thought that Jedi were funny", he replied dryly. After a moment in silence, he turned his head around to see if Kip was even nearby and then looked directly at Thane. "How is it possible that you Jedi never heard about the Flamewalkers? They are quite secretive, but they are dangerous. You never know when a Flamewalker will show up." Sev focused his attention back onto the space. "The rumor is that Flamewalkers are a sect of assassins. But their actions are sporadic, not like what you would expect from professional assassins looking for contracts."

"There's a lot the Jedi don't know," Thane admonished, although it was voiced more as an accusation towards the Order itself, "or simply a lot they don't share. They're ever-fearful of ideals or teachings that lead to the dark side, always scared that some great threat will return, unless they hide away or destroy all traces of the Sith and such like. It's highly possible that the Order does know about the Flamewalkers - they just don't make it public knowledge."

His eyes wandered over the controls before him, understanding the basics, but he was happier to trust in others' abilities. He and the Mandalorian might clash, but he respected what he had seen of Sev's abilities so far. "There is some old information in the Archives about the Nightsisters of Dathomir; it took me a while to find, but they loaned themselves out as assassins, much as these Flamewalkers do. However, that is now a part of Mandalorian space, and it's been many a year since any Jedi went to that place." Thane looked over to the bounty hunter. "Can't deny the power they wielded, though, as misused as it was."

Sev looked at one panel and flicked a switch to balance the fuel ratio. "Yes, the Nightsisters", he said, remembering. "When Manda'toma was formed, Dathomir was already pacified and the Nightsisters have been taken the Mandalorian Path. They were nothing like the Flamewalkers, though. The Nightsisters acted by instinct, sometimes using the dark side, as you Jedi call it. Now they go to the Jedi Order in Manda'toma and get trained as they should." He looked at Thane. "But you already knew about the Gray Jedi Council in Manda'toma, right?"

Thane scoffed. "There are so many sects of the Jedi Order in the galaxy right now: the main Reborn Jedi Order on Coruscant, the Rift Jedi on Belsmuth, this Cult of Axion..." He looked over to the other Human. "...the Mandalorian Knights in Manda'toma. And that's but naming the main ones we deal with. Don't think otherwise - I respect much of what the Mandalorian Defenders have built, and I can see sense in the Mandalorian Path, but equally, there are holes in that philosophy, 'though not quite as many as I see in the Order these days."

Watching as Sev worked the Raptor's controls, Thane tried to remember everything he saw the bounty hunter do. "Tell me, though: regardless of why the Flamewalker is out here, probably putting devices in every room to keep tabs on us, why are you not with the rest of the Mandalorians? Mainly, all we see out here - usually in the Outer Rim - are Exiles, not ones from the homeland."

"That is a long story, Jetii. I don't think we know each other enough for me to tell you all of it", the Mandalorian returned his attention to Thane. "Let's just say that I have nothing left to return to and I have to prove to them that I still can be part of Manda'toma after what I did... After what Axion manipulated me into. That's all." Sev turned his head back to the space again. "One day, maybe, I'll tell you the whole story, if you're still interested. A question for a question. Why are you so angry with your Order?" He asked, looking at the long range sensors. All clear.

Thane was nodding. "I've often found revenge to be amongst the purest of motives, as it is infallible and with purpose - which the Jedi Order lacks." He focused upon the pilot. "And that frustrates me, more than simply angers me. Whilst many of their core tenets and supposed directives are just and right, they are hypocritical and obnoxious, uncompromising on moot points and too easy to disturb on key issues. They are more chaos than order," the Jedi summarised. "They let their fear cloud their judgement on so many topics, and make it almost impossible to turn something to an advantage and do a job well."

Letting out a sigh (something he found himself doing regularly as he discussed the Jedi Order... and Berry), Thane rested back on the chair and crossed his arms. "Obviously, it's far more in-depth than just that. Essentially, the Jedi do more good than bad - for now - but I believe they could be doing so much more, and only serve to weaken themselves, spreading themselves too thinly in terms of ability and cause, like butter scraped across too much bread."

"Interesting", Sev said toneless. "I can say that revenge can be satisfying. To a point. After that, it becomes the focus of your life and soon you'll get killed trying to get there. I know that because I have lost an arm and an eye for it, and now I can say it wasn't a fair trade. It was revenge that made me turn into a Jetti Hunter. It was after I almost died that I realized I wasn't following the Mandalorian Path any more. Then, I went looking for the one that fed my revenge by giving me the targets: Axion. Now, I'm going to earn credits over his dead body. That revenge will be real satisfying."

Considering what Sev was saying, Thane tried to cool his rising ire by letting his eyes settle upon the hyperspace vortex before them, a deeper blue than his own eyes. With memories of Axion's attack on his home so many years ago once playing on his mind, he was only further incensed at the manner by which the Dark Jedi had behaved in Grogga's Palace, even though he knew that was what Axion had been angling for. His bacta patched-fist clenched, but he did not do anything erratic.

"He is an affront to the Force, to law and order, and to the people of the galaxy," he said slowly, still watching the twirling space beyond, "and he will pay for everyone he has wronged. Even you, Mandalorian." Despite his inner hatred, the Jedi remained calm, but thousands of scenarios began playing out in his head, of how he could have better handled the confrontation with Axion, but not once did he find himself regretting his emotions. In a way, he wished he had been better able to use them to end the Cult Master's miserable life. With any luck, Darth Bane's holocron would help with that.

"Strong words, Jedi", Sev said, giving Thane a glance. "And I agree. He'll die by my hands. The last thing he'll know is that he never should have manipulated me. Or killed innocents. Or been a total idiot", he added.

"We will also have to keep an eye on this Flamewalker," Thane said, turning the conversation back towards its earlier point, "and we can be certain that he'll be keeping an eye on us. You and I may have our differences, Sev Rezer, but I don't sense any duplicity within you; we both want the same thing, and we both know better than to trust someone for nothing. You watch the Devaronian and I will, too." The Human moved to get out of the chair. "I know how Mandalorians and bounty hunters operate, but this Kip is a unknown integer to me, and not one I intend to let have the better of me, with his intricate schemes and pleasant attitude, and I don't think you do, either."

Sev didn't react immediately to Thane's words. "He tries to manipulate me, I'll tear out his horns and stab him with them", he said calmly. The mandalorian, then, turned around to face Thane. "We have an understanding, Jedi Thane. Anyone that gets in our way to Axion will die with him. Even the Flamewalker if I find out he intends to betray us."

"Then we have an understanding," Thane echoed as he made his way from the cockpit.

RSS Feed